The Adventures of Having Sakamoto As Your Classmate
by heartbeatangel
Summary: Follow Midori on her High School journey as a student of class 1-2, in which she faces mishaps involving teachers, delinquents, girls (and boys) madly in love with Sakamoto, and a charming senpai. One thing's for sure - there's never a dull moment with Sakamoto as her classmate. [Completed]
1. The Shrine Maiden

**Disclaimer: tried to follow the humor in** ** _Sakamoto Desu Ga?_** **Stupid comedy is prevalent in this fic. You have been warned.**

 **Miho - Shrine maiden  
** **Jinja - Shrine**

* * *

' _My name is Katagi Midori. I attend Gakubun Prefectural High School, and I'm from class 1-2.'_

A dark green haired girl wearing the standard red sailor uniform of her high school entered her class, walking straight to the aisle two seats away from the window, taking her usual seat at the third table in the row. She placed her bag on the floor, tucking her skirt under her legs as she took a seat, adjusting her spiral glasses.

' _Usually, in my old school, I would be talked about, but not here in Gakubun. That is because of…'_

The door slid open, and a soft, well-mannered voice spoke. "Good morning."

The rest of the girls sighed, clapping their cheeks with their palms as their eyes followed the bespectacled black haired boy to his seat by the window. Within seconds of him taking a seat, girls swarmed around his table, vying for his attention, while the rest of the guys scowled at the back, plotting for his demise.

He is Sakamoto, the most stylish guy in the entire school. Because of that, not only is everyone in class smitten by him, so is the rest of the school.

' _Thanks to Sakamoto's presence, no one spares me a second gaze,'_ Midori thought triumphantly to herself, adjusting her spiral glasses yet again.

The rest of the day went by, and soon, it was time to go home. The rest of the school milled out, heading towards the central area. She lagged behind, and slipped past everyone, taking a road at the back of the school. After a short walk, she entered the shrine of the city – the Midori Jinja.

' _The second reason why nobody notices me is because…'_

She slipped into her room, placing her bag down. Then she quickly got changed, replacing her skirt with long, red trousers, and pulling a white kimono jacket over her top. She pulled at the two red ribbons holding her braids in place, letting her green curls loose while fastening the ribbons at the top of her head. She run her left hand across her forehead, smoothening her bangs, while her other hand took off her spiral glasses, revealing red eyes.

She heard footsteps, indicating that worshippers and tourists alike have arrived to pay their visits to their shrine. She quickly exited her room, making her way to their front of the shrine to resume her daily duties as the shrine maiden of Midori Jinja.

' _There is only one shrine in this city, and the shrine maiden is always named Midori. Midori Miho – the shrine maiden of Midori Jinja. To avoid standing out and being recognised in school and get made fun of, I wear a disguise to school.'_

She smiled, bowing at the worshippers as they handed her their wooden plagues with prayers written on it, turning to hang them up.

 _'_ _My current life is perfect – a quiet, unnoticed girl in school during the day, a shrine maiden taking care of the shrine and its visitors after school, and doing my work in the evening.'_

The sun began to set and the last visitor left, holding on to their purchased Omamori good luck charm. She placed her broom aside, retiring to her room for the day, and picking up her workbook.

 _'_ _Nothing can change that…_

 _Or so I thought.'_

\- X -

"Hey, Katagi-chan!"

Midori swallowed, putting down her book and answering in a voice higher than her normal pitch. "Yes, class rep?"

The class representative, Fujita, smiled at her. "It's almost summer, so the class will be going to pay our respects at the shrine behind school! It's a really short walk, and we're going after school. Would you like to come with us?"

She felt her eyes widened behind her glasses. ' _Dammit! Of course they'll go to the shrine sooner or later… No matter, I can't let them know I'm the Midori Miho!'_

Controlling her voice, she replied, "No, I'm feeling rather under the weather… You guys go ahead! Leave a best wish on my behalf, haha!"

As soon as the dismissal bell rang, Midori bolted out of her seat and dashed home. No sooner did she set her bag down and hastily pull on her Miho attire and took off her disguise, she heard chattering, indicating the arrival of her class.

She grabbed a broom, plastering a fake smile and greeting them with her normal voice, praying that no one saw through her and recognized her as their classmate.

After a while, it seemed that it was working. The class was busy writing their prayers on wooden plagues and offering their respects. She heaved a sigh of relief while hanging up some of their plagues.

Kubota, Sakamoto's close friend in class, leaned over and whispered to him. "Sakamoto-kun? Is it just me or does the shrine maiden look a bit familiar?"

Midori nearly jumped out of her skin. Forcing herself to look natural, she strained to hear Sakamoto's reply.

There was a quick flash in his eyes. Midori held her breath, pretending to be engrossed in sweeping the floor.

Sakamoto pushed his glasses up his nose. "I believe that it is just you."

Midori heaved a second sigh of relief. Just as she did so, a particularly strong gust of wind blew.

"Ah!"

One of her ribbons at the top of her head came undone, and the wind carried it away. Midori sighed, chalking it up to bad luck before resuming her duties.

Sakamoto adjusted his glasses again.

\- X -

The next day, Midori went to school with her usual braids and spiral glasses, although one of her braids was missing a red ribbon. She took her seat, and when she looked up, she met Sakamoto's gaze. On reflex, her hand flew to the braid missing the ribbon.

"Midori…"

She froze. Was her cover blown?

"… Is your given name?"

"Y-Yes," she squeaked in her false voice.

"Katagi Midori." He adjusted his glasses, the lens flashing as he did so. "A very mystical name. Almost spiritual. Almost... fit for a shrine."

She swallowed.

The rest of the girls in class glowered at her. Midori couldn't care less – all she was thinking about was if Sakamoto already figured out her true identity.

Hours past, and soon, it was time for physical education. The class quickly got changed, meeting at the field.

"Alright students!" The teacher shouted. "Today we're going to play baseball! Get into your teams!"

After much shuffling, it was Midori's time to play as batter, and throwing the baseball would be Sakamoto. The bat has been broken by the resident delinquent of the class, Atsushi, and the girl were sorely disappointed as it meant they were unable to witness Sakamoto display his throwing skills.

"No worries," Sakamoto coolly replied.

No sooner did the words leave his mouth did a broom come hurtling in Midori's direction. By reflex trained after years of cleaning the shrine, she caught the broom by its handle, wielding it expertly.

"If the batter is familiar with a broom, we can substitute it easily for a bat," Sakamoto said, readying the baseball. "Is it alright with you, Katagi-san?"

The girls (and Atsushi) squealed. "Sakamoto-kun, you're so cool! Kya!"

 _'_ _He knows that all shrine maidens are good with brooms! Does he know that I am –'_

Engrossed by her worries, she tripped mid-game. Sakamoto was crouching in front of her in a heartbeat, asking if she's alright, and extending a hand to her.

(The girls shrieked in the background.)

"Yeah, I'm oka-"

She stopped when she saw what was in his outstretched palm. Her red ribbon that flew away yesterday!

"How-"

"On my way home from the shrine yesterday, I saw this on a branch of a tree. The wind must have carried it there." He dropped the ribbon in her hand. "Tie it properly in the future, Midori Miho."

That moment, while clutching onto her ribbon, she had an epiphany – Sakamoto knew that she was the Midori Miho all along. ' _But he didn't care. The rest of the class – no, the school – wouldn't care either; I was the one over-thinking things all along.'_

\- X -

The next day, Midori went to class as herself – no glasses, hair undone, curls to mid back, and her two red ribbons at the top of her head. She entered class and went to her seat – there was no stares, no whispering whatsoever.

"Katagi-chan!" Fujita called. "You're on cleaning duty today!"

"Okay!" she answered.

 _'_ _And that was the story of how I realized that I did not need to hide my identity as the shrine maiden, the Midori Miho, of the Midori Jinja behind Gakubun Prefectural High School here in school.'_

* * *

Days passed and Midori was settling into her new routine with ease. The class did not bother much with her despite knowing her identity (which was great), and some classmates even dropped by time to time after school to help out with the shrine occasionally. It was a routine Midori did not mind at all.

One day in class, during break, the door slammed. A tall, second year blond male walked into class with big, purposeful strides. He brushed his bangs not tied in his ponytail out of his eyes, and the earring on the ear with braids tucked behind shone as the sunlight caught it. He scanned the class, his blue eyes glinted once he locked eyes with his target at the far end of the class – Sakamoto.

Some girls sitting in front of Midori squealed.

"Isn't he handsome?" the first girl gushed.

"But not as much as Sakamoto, though!" the second sighed.

Midori, being one of the only few girls in school who did not see Sakamoto's appeal other than beyond a simple remarkable classmate, could not agree with the second girl. However, the first girl's words… were something Midori found herself agreeing.

He was Hayabusa, better known as Hayabusa-senpai, the leader of the delinquents of the second years. He was curt, intimidating; but at the same time, charismatic.

A memory flashed through her head. Her looking up. Hayabusa's sharp blue eyes softening. Her eyes, glazed behind the spiral glasses she worn before the class knew her true identity.

She snapped out of her reminiscence quickly, watching the scene in front of her with interest. Sakamoto handed Hayabusa block of clay with the mold of his face on it, and upon seeing it, the girls in the class went wide, charging at the latter in hopes of grabbing the mold.

Hayabusa stared at the girls in alarm, dodging them as they lunged at him. The prettiest girl in class, Aina, even went as far to pull her arm back, throwing a punch at him.

"Senpai!" Midori called.

Just as Hayabusa looked up, Midori tossed a broom at him. The broom sailed past the heads of the rabid girls, and Hayabusa caught it expertly. Using it, he fended off the girls with ease and hurled the mold towards the entrance.

While leaving, he stepped on the clay. "Sakamoto, meet me at the riverside at two. We have unfinished business."

The girl in front of Midori shivered. "So scary."

"I thought he was pretty cool," Midori shrugged.

\- X -

After school, Midori was at her shrine as usual, when she heard footsteps approaching.

"Oh," she said once she saw that her newest visitor was Hayabusa.

His eyes displayed recognition once he saw her. "You're the girl in class 1-2."

"Yes," she said, holding onto her broom with one hand while the other rested at her hip. "After school I'm the Midori Miho of this shrine."

Hayabusa walked to the front of the altar, kneeling and clasping his hands together. After a prayer, he stood up.

"I didn't peg you as the religious type," Midori commented.

"It is only right to pay respects to those no longer in the land of living," he said while dusting himself off. "Besides, that Sakamoto is no ordinary first-year. I need to be at my best."

After hearing Midori's non-committal hum of reply, his eyes darted to her. "Say, you were one of the few, if not the only girl in your class who wasn't busy trying to come at me. Why did you help me?"

"The question is, why not?" she asked, while resuming her sweeping.

"Aren't you taken aback by Sakamoto, too?"

She shook her head, her ribbons bouncing as she did so. "He is unique, and indeed remarkable. But… not my cup of tea."

(She lifted her eyes from her sweeping to glance at his face as she said that.)

Hayabusa grunted in reply, and began to head towards the exit. "Well then. I must be on my way to prepare for my match-"

"Please wait!"

He turned around to face her. She held out a red Omamori charm out to him. He looked at her imploringly.

"For good luck," she said. "To make sure your prayers get answered in time for the match. This is one of my best good luck charms; of course, I can't just get it to you, so I'll loan it to you until after your match."

He took the charm and pocketed it in his jacket's front pocket.

\- X -

The last visitor left, and Midori bowed to her. The sun set, and the stars were beginning to shine, marking the start of the evening. It was her cue to light up the lights at the front of the shrine and retire to her room for the night.

Just when she finished turning on the last light, she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. The figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself to be Hayabusa.

"Senpai…?"

He walked up to her, holding out a plastic bag. She took it from him, and opened it, revealing her red Omamori charm sitting on top of two neatly wrapped Onigiris.

Midori felt a sense of déjà vu.

She thought back to the first day of school, where she was still bumbling about the hallways with her spiral glasses and braids, unfamiliar with the compound. While trying to locate her class, she accidentally bumped into an upperclassman.

 _"_ _Oof!"_

The force of the collision and the mass of the upperclassman she bumped into caused her to fall backwards, landing ungracefully on the ground.

 _"_ _Oi!"_ The bulky upperclassman shouted. _"Watch where you're going! Hayabusa, did you see the nerve of this first year?"_

 _"_ _I'm sor-"_ she stammered.

 _"_ _Hey,"_ the blond male beside the upperclassman said sharply, cutting the latter off. _"_ _It's not cool to yell at a girl, much less a first year. Have you got any honor?"_

He took hold of her upper arm, pulling her up to her feet while the bulky upperclassman scoffed. He scanned her for any injuries, and upon seeing her otherwise unscathed, he nodded, eyes softening.

 _"_ _The first year classrooms are that side,_ " he said, pointing to his right while handing her bag she dropped during the collision.

She looked at him, eyes glazed with gratitude.

Since then, Midori has always harbored that gratitude and a certain fondness to this mysterious Hayabusa, although their paths never crossed. Until today – and she had to thank Sakamoto for that.

"Treat this as payment for lending me your charm," he said. "It helped me during my fight."

( _"Along the way," Sakamoto said earlier during their fight while gently nudging Hayabusa into the cab he hailed. "I decided that you weren't the one I needed to fight. Besides," he looked at Hayabusa's jacket pocket, where a part of Midori's charm was hanging out. "… if the shrine maiden of our city's Midori Jinja – a shrine where all the sparrows flock to - considers you worthy of her blessings, you cannot be a bad person. I can't have you catch a cold if we continue this… So, I called a taxi.")_

As soon as she thanked him, he turned his heel and started to make his way home.

Midori smiled, almost to herself. "Good night, Senpai."


	2. Sports Day

The PA system blared to life, telling the students of Gakubun Prefectural High School that the Year One sports items have come to a close, and for Year Twos to ready themselves for their items. The Sakamoto fangirls that gathered to watch him sighed in disappointment, and started to disperse.

Sports day was so far so good; her class did well in events largely due to Sakamoto's skills and the support they received from his fans amongst the crowds.

The system blared again, informing the crowd that it was time for the Year Two's Scavenger Hunt. At once, more and more people who left for their lunch break returned, sitting under the tents with their class eagerly.

"What's the fuss over the Scavenger Hunt? Sakamoto's not participating," Midori mused, half joking.

Aina looked at her with widened eyes. "Katagi-chan! Don't you know? The Scavenger's Hunt is the best event – after any event that Sakamoto-kun takes part in, of course. The senpais will have to hunt for items according to the paper they pick from the lot, and sometimes the most _romantic_ thing will be asked for!" She sighed dreamily, cupping her face between her hands. "Maybe the item asked to be found will be prettiest girl of Gakubun, and maybe someone will ask Aina-chan to be go with them~"  
 **  
**As the Year Twos took their places at the track, some girls started squealing. "Oh, the senpais are so cute! Looks like Hayabusa-senpai will be a hunter, too!"

The mention of the blond made Midori snap to attention. She scanned the track, and true to their words saw Hayabusa standing there with few others representatives of his class.

The horn sounded, and the Year Twos ran to get their slips of paper, looking at the items they were supposed to find. Some of the Year Twos jumped into action immediately, running towards the audience and shouting things like, "May I borrow a fan?" "Could someone lend me their sports drink?" "Can a child under the age of five run with me to the finishing line?"

Hayabusa looked at his slip of paper, his brows furrowed. He pursed his lips, then made a straight beeline towards the Year One's tent.

Some girls started squealing again.

Aina sighed. "Maybe he's coming for Aina-chan~"

He stopped in front of Midori, and extended his hand to her.

Midori blinked.

The girls were squealing again – some in anger, and some in excitement.

"Midori Miho," Hayabusa said. "Will you come with me to the finishing line?"

She looked at him, then at his hand, and after a split second, she placed her hand in hers.

(The squealing got louder.)

Hayabusa pulled her to her feet and out of the tent, and they began to ran towards the finishing line, their hands linked together the whole time.

At the finishing line, the student checking the items smiled, requesting for Hayabusa's paper. He seemed almost reluctant to hand it over.

The student unfolded the paper and read, "' _Cute kouhai'._ You have got yourself cute kouhai indeed! Points awarded to your class!"

Midori almost blushed.

Hayabusa looked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "All that running made me thirsty. Come on, I'll walk you back to your class, then I'll go buy a drink for me to cool down."

And that was how sports day ended for Midori on a high and pleasant note.


	3. Delinquents and Math?

"Senpai," one First Year delinquent said one fine day. "It's so boring nowadays."

Sports Day was weeks ago, and since then, nothing of excitement had taken place.

"How dare you!" another exclaimed, spitting his cigarette out in his excitement. "Are you saying that it's boring with Maruyama senpai around?"

"No!" the first quickly protested. "I just meant that there's nothing to amuse ourselves with, and no one to help us do things! Not only is life boring, but boringly tedious!"

"Hmm," the bulky upperclassman in question said thoughtfully, stroking his goatee. He took a drag of his cigarette before continuing. "We should get a underclassman around. To entertain us and do things for us."

"Oh!" First Year delinquent, Atsushi exclaimed, eyes lighting up in glee. "I know someone who will definitely entertain and service us to the best! He's in my class, he's called Sakamoto-"

Maruyama choked on his cigarette and stood up in alarm. "No! No! No! Anyone but Sakamoto! No Sakamoto!"

Atsushi's shoulders drooped in disappointment.

"We must," Maruyama said determinedly. "… must get a female." He pondered. "And one who will not talk about Sakamoto at all."

"Oh!" Atsushi exclaimed again. "I think I know someone who fits the bill!"

His friend, Mario, caught his eye and grinned.

\- X -

During the lesson a period before break, Midori opened her pencil case to find a note hastily shoved in beside her eraser. She took it out and smoothed it, reading its contents.

' _Meet me at the third floor classroom at the end of the corridor during your break. -8823'_

 _'Hayabusa senpai?'_ Midori thought to herself. No doubt, part of her was excited that the charming and mysterious senpai would want to meet her. (After all, she did harbor a certain fondness for Hayabusa.)

When break came along, Midori practically ran out of her class, hurrying to the designated meeting area. While she was rushing her way out, she dropped the slip of paper. Sakamoto, one for keeping the cleanliness in the class, picked the paper out.

He looked at the scrawling on it with a frown. This writing seemed familiar; it was like the ones he received back when Hayabusa's adoring underclassmen wanted to coerce him into fighting the senpai.

"Well, well," Sakamoto sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose bridge before standing up, and making his way out of the class.

\- X -

Meanwhile, at the Year Two block, Maruyama smiled at Hayabusa the moment the bell rang for break.

"Yo, Hayabusa. Could you get five packets of curry rice from the cafeteria?"

Hayabusa looked at him wearily. The day's special on the menu was curry rice, and there was bound to be a queue for it. "Can't you get one of the kouhais to do it…?"

"I promised them I would treat them to curry rice today. And I'm going to be telling them some fighting tips too. Wouldn't want to waste any time." He pressed a bill into Hayabusa's palm. "Come on, Hayabusa, do it for your kouhais who adore you."

Hayabusa sighed and trudged down to the cafeteria. Maruyama smiled to himself and made his way to the third floor classroom at the end of the corridor, where the other delinquents were already waiting.

\- X -

A few moments later, a dark green haired girl skipped into the classroom. Upon seeing the faces of so many delinquents, she faltered, hesitating near the door.

Midori took a tentative step into the class, scanning the faces. Hayabusa was nowhere to be found. The delinquents were grinning at her, and taking steps towards her.

"Excuse me," she said, trying to take a step back. "I… must have gotten the wrong class."

"No," one laughed. (She recognised him as Mario from class.) "You didn't."

She tried to leave, but before she could do so, a bulky, old-looking upperclassman stepped forward, grabbing her wrist and dragging her into the class. She yelped in shock, and just as she did so, a delinquent near the door slammed it shut.

"Come on, Katagi-chan," Ken-Ken laughed. "It's your fault for making your little crush on Hayabusa-senpai so obvious! We all saw the way you helped him last time."

Mario and Atsushi nudged each other, laughing along with Ken-Ken.

"Now," Maruyama said, rubbing his hands together as he grinned at Midori in front of him. "Let's have you entertain us."

\- X -

At the canteen, Hayabusa sighed as the queue started moving forward. Just before he was next in line to order, he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. He turned to be greeted by the sight of Sakamoto.

"Senpai," he said in greeting.

"Ah, it's you, Sakamoto," Hayabusa replied. "What brings you here?"

"Actually…"

\- X -

Back at the classroom, Midori found herself being backed into a corner as the delinquents advanced upon her.

"You're the shrine maiden of that shrine behind school, right?" Maruyama asked, his beady eyes fixed on her. "What is the title given to you again? Something miho?"

"Midori Miho," Atsushi quipped.

"Ah yes," Maruyama said. "That's right. Come, cute kouhai. Entertain us. Buy drinks for us and serve it to us while performing some of your ritual dances."

"Ritual dances are to be performed for the gods and with honor!" Midori cried in anger. "Not used as some form of entertainment!"

The delinquents hooted with laughter. "It's like a kitten roaring in anger!"

"Yo, Midori Miho! Wear your cute little shrine maiden costume and serve us orange juice while you're at it!"

Maruyama nodded. "Yes, aren't these part of your costume?" he asked while tugging at the ribbons at the top of her head.

She gritted her teeth together, reaching up and slapping his hand away. "Don't you dare get your hands near my shrine maiden attire!"

Maruyama was offended. He grabbed her wrist in anger. "Who do you think you're hitting, little girl?"

Midori glared at him, struggling against his iron grip. "Let go of me-!"

"What's going on here?!" a voice demanded as the door slammed open.

Everyone in the room turned to face the source of the voice. Upon seeing Hayabusa standing at the doorway, eyes flashing in anger and certainly not holding on to any packets of curry rice, they paled.

"Hayabusa senpai!" Midori said in relief. Finally, a face she recognize.

Hayabusa's gaze focused on Midori and Maruyama.

At once, Maruyama dropped his hold on Midori, laughing shakily. "Yo, Hayabusa, you're back early! Haha, did curry rice sell out?"

"Back a second too late," Hayabusa said, matching towards Maruyama. "But still, it was thanks to Sakamoto that I was notified of… this."

"Sakamoto again!" Maruyama said in alarm.

He saw Hayabusa's hand reach out in his direction. On reflex, he raised his arms in front of him protectively. However, instead of Hayabusa knocking the daylights out of him, Hayabusa took hold of Midori, pulling her out of the classroom with him.

Midori looked at the backview of Hayabusa as they walked along the corridors, and then at his hand around her wrist. His hold on her was gentle, and gave her a sense of warm; so unlike Maruyama's grip on her. She was so caught up in those feelings that she scarcely registered that Hayabusa led her back to her class.

"Ah, senpai- " by the time she came to her senses and tried to thank him, he already turned his back and made his way back to the Year Two block.

Once again, Hayabusa came to her rescue.

\- X -

Hayabusa, of course, couldn't simply cut ties with the delinquents for such a matter. Instead, he gave them a stern talking to, lecturing them about how dishonorable it is to pick on a underclassman, much less a defensive one.

("Defensive, my foot," Maruyama muttered, rubbing the hand she slapped. He clammed up the moment Hayabusa shot him a glare.)

When school ended, Hayabusa took out his phone to find a new message.

' _Hi senpai,_

 _Just wanted to thank you for helping me out earlier. Thank you very much. ^_^_

 _\- Katagi Midori'_

\- X -

Midori's phone buzzed in her pocket when she was making her way back to the shrine. She took out her phone and saw that she received a new message.

' _No worries. How did you get my number? -8823'_

Midori smiled, thinking to when she asked her classmate, Sera, whom looked up to Hayabusa for his 'stylishness'. Sera exclaimed that he knew almost everything about everyone fashionable in school before passing her the upperclassman's number.

She replied after changing into her shrine maiden attire.

 _'_ _When you know a lot of senpai's fans, it's not too hard to find out things about you. They even tried to tell me what you eat for breakfast daily when all I wanted was your phone number! ^_~ (LOL)'_

 _'…_

 _You're impossible, Midori Miho.'_

She grinned while reading his message, making one last reply before pocketing her phone.

 _'As are you, senpai.'_

* * *

Midori sighed for the umpteenth time, staring at the worksheet in front of her and frowning at the questions. She opened her textbook, jabbed the calculator, even used a different pencil (people had lucky pencils, after all) – but alas, she still couldn't get the right answer.

School was already dismissed for near an hour, and Midori was still in school, sitting in the school library, nearly tearing her hair out in frustration over seemingly harmless math questions.

Her math exam were tomorrow, and her math teacher had given her back her math mock practice paper earlier today. Her teacher didn't say much, only clapped her shoulder, shook her head at all, and asked her to please try to study hard for tomorrow.

Midori looked at the mock paper, thought of the math exam, and decided that worshipers could wait until tomorrow to pray.

And that was why Midori was in the school library, trying to study and hopefully pass math.

She was engrossed in some question involving three triangles before a voice whispered in her ear.

"You had better have a damn good reason why you're ignoring all my texts since this morning."

She jumped. "Hayabusa-senpai!" she exclaimed in a whispered cry, mindful that they were in the library.

Hayabusa stood in front of her, one hand on his hip and another in his pocket, frowning down at her. Midori took a peek at her phone, only to see that she had five unread messages.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly as he took a seat next to her, his arm resting at the back of her chair. "You know I'd usually reply, but I'm busy studying… Speaking of which, senpai, don't the Year Twos have math exams tomorrow too?"

He gave a non-committal hum of reply. "It's only math."

"Only math?!" she could have shouted if she wasn't in the library.

He smirked. "And I suppose the reason you ignored my texts and are not in the shrine right now is because of math?"

"If the prayers of worshipers are sincere enough, the gods will hear them despite them not praying in the shrine," she retorted.

He smirked again before saying, "It can't be that bad."

She didn't say anything, only thrust her mock paper at him. His eyes scanned her grade and her mistakes.

Then he shook his head. "Yes, the worshipers can wait till tomorrow. Or pray at home."

She sunk her head down on the table, letting out a muffled wail. "I'm _doooooomed_!"

"Not necessarily," he said while flipping through her mock paper. "Actually, all you got are some basic concepts wrong. If you get them right, you should be able to pass math easily. Year One math isn't all that tough-"

Midori bolted up straight, and snapped to his directions, looking at him with sparkling eyes. "Senpai, since your math is good, you don't need to study right? You're free for the day, right?"

"Yes-"

She clasped his arm, looking at him pleadingly. "Senpai! Can you please help me with math? I just need to get my basic concepts right! Please senpai!"

Hayabusa didn't look convinced. He hesitated and sighed in resignation. "Fine, it's not like I have anything to do anyway. All the others already scurried home to study."

"Thank you Hayabusa-senpai! You're the best!"

"Yeah, yeah. Now, hand me your textbook." He took the book from her, grabbed a pencil, and pointed at the formula written. "You see here…"

\- X -

A few hours later, Hayabusa flipped to the last page. "And finally…."

Midori looked at him in awe. "Senpai… you finished the entire syllabus in less than three hours… and I actually understood everything…! You're amazing!"

"Save your praises. Go redo some of your mock paper questions and see if you can get them right. If you get them right, then you really do understand what I've taught you." He yawned, stretching his arms backwards.

"Okay!" she proceeded to attempt a few questions.

Upon getting them right, to her utmost surprise and delight, she turned to Hayabusa in glee. He nodded, giving her a small smile.

"See, wasn't that hard, was it?" he yawned again.

"Thank you so much senpai! I wish there was some way for me to repay you…"

He took out his wallet and slid some coins over to her. "You can start by helping me get a can of coffee. Iced."

"Of course!"

She quickly left to get the iced coffee. By the time she got back to the library and was ready to pass Hayabusa his iced coffee, he found him sleeping, with his head on his arms across the table.

\- X -

When Hayabusa awoke, his jacket was no longer on the table beside him – it was draped around his shoulders. He glanced to his left, and saw that the sun was already setting, dying the sky red. He looked again to his right, and no dark green-haired shrine maiden was to be found.

However, beside him he saw a can of iced coffee, a red Omamori good luck charm (the very same she lent him when he was about to fight Sakamoto), and a note pressed under the coffee.

' _Senpai,'_ the note read. ' _Thank you again for your help! You seemed very tired (no thanks to me; sorry for being such a tedious student to teach), so I decided to let you sleep longer! I hope you'll wake up before they lock the school, LOL!'_

Hayabusa rolled his eyes as he read that line. A small smile creep its way onto his face. He continued reading.

' _I know you don't need to study, but since I took up your time, take this charm! It'll bless and give you good luck for tomorrow! Have a good night, senpai._

 _\- Midori'_

\- X -

The days passed and one day after school, Hayabusa felt his phone buzz his pocket. He took it out, and read his newest message received.

' _Senpai! I passed math! And managed to get a half decent score! My math teacher was shocked! Thanks again! Next time if you come by the shrine, I'll treat you to tea!'_

He smiled involuntarily as he read the message before a typing a reply back to Midori.

' _Of course you'll pass. After all, I was your tutor. Who do you take me for?'_

Her reply was just as quick.

' _8823 senpai, of course ^_~'_


	4. Fukase's Plan

One day, out of the blue, Hayabusa texted Midori, asking her what's her favourite sweet snack to eat in a festival.

She thought for a while. Looking around to make sure that no teachers happened to be patrolling the corridors, she glanced at her phone under the table, typing out a reply.

' _Out of all, I'd have to go with cotton candy! It's cheap, easy to make, and nice too.'_

She received another text from him almost immediately.

' _Good,'_ Hayabusa senpai's text read. ' _I found enough scrap metal to make a cotton candy machine.'_

 _'_ _What's it for? Don't tell me senpai is retiring to be a cotton candy chef! /)w(\'_

 _'_ _Haha,'_ his text read. ' _I'm making it for cultural festival.'_

 _'_ _Aren't food and drink stalls not allowed?'_ Midori remembered that distinctively as the class rep was arguing with a few classmates about their class's choice of having a balloon exhibit instead of a maid café for the upcoming cultural festival.

' _I'm still doing it, just because I can.'_

 _'_ _Are you sure it's not just because you like cotton candy too, senpai? ^v~'_

 _'_ _Ha,'_ (Midori could almost hear Hayabusa's dry voice behind his text. She bit back a laugh.) ' _During the day of the Cultural Festival, come by to the school's North Landing. I'll treat you to cotton candy.'_

She couldn't stop the smile that appeared on her face as she read his last text to her.

"Katagi-san," Sakamoto said, causing her to quickly look up from her phone. "Break is almost ending. You may be want to beware of any teacher catching you using your phone."

* * *

Days passed, and after days of preparing the balloons for their class's display, and finally after the whole balloon popping fiasco involving Sakamoto and two morons in the class, it was time for the school's cultural festival.

"Let's get to work, everyone!" Fujita cried, face flushed with happiness. "For real, this time!"

Aina and Yagi held up some leftover items. "We have 3 balloons and half a can of helium. What can we do for the display now? The festival is in less than 2 hours…"

Sakamoto smiled, adjusting his glasses. "I have an idea." He turned to Midori. "Katagi-san, can you please call Hayabusa-senpai? Since you're already secretly using your phone."

Midori, at that point in time, was secretly checking her phone and about to text Hayabusa back. She jumped, and laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, sure."

She dialled his number, and the connection got through.

" _Hello?"_ Hayabusa said on the other end of the line.

"Hi, senpai; sorry to suddenly call you."

" _It's okay. What's wrong?" S_ omething akin to panic seeped into his voice. " _Did Sakamoto come back to your class?"_

"Yeah, he did! Actually, Sakamoto told me to call you- "

"Katagi-san," Sakamoto interrupted politely, holding out his hand. "May I speak to Hayabusa senpai?"

Midori sheepishly laughed again, handing the phone over to him.

"Hello, Hayabusa senpai," Sakamoto said, placing Midori's phone to his ear. "I'd like to ask you for a favour…"

* * *

"Alright!" Hayabusa proclaimed minutes before the Cultural Festival officially began. "I'm done!"

"Wow, Hayabusa-senpai!" Mario shouted. "You're so cool!"

"Yeah!" Ken-Ken gushed. "The three of them look so good!"

"Sakamoto!" Atsushi called. "How do you like Hayabusa-senpai's cotton candy?"

"… A bit sweet for my liking."

The classmates crowding around them took a step back, revealing Sakamoto and the two previous morons who sabotaged the balloon display to be covered in cotton candy from head to toe, resembling three yetis. Sakamoto nodded at the girls by the window. At his signal, they released the three balloons into the air, and attached to the balloons were the signs that read, " **Class 1-2's catch the yeti game!** "

Fujita sounded the horn. The three yetis ran down the corridors, with game participators hot on their heels. Along the way, they crossed paths with the sinister Fukase.

Fukase looked at Sakamoto, unharmed, stylish, cool, and still as popular as ever. He felt amused; by Sakamoto for escaping his game, and by Hayabusa for his guts at standing up to him.

 _'_ _To kill time,_ ' Fukase thought to himself, walking towards the direction of class 1-2. _'Let me device a way to ruin this Sakamoto's reputation while making use of someone associated with both Hayabusa and Sakamoto. Killing two annoying birds with one little stone. This will be a challenge; an entertaining challenge indeed.'_

\- X -

Back in class 1-2, Midori and her classmates were peering out of the window, watching the chase take place. She could tell that the class rep was undoubtedly happy at the success of the class's game.

"Hey, Midori," Hayabusa called, cocking a finger and signalling for her to go over to him.

When she walked up to him, he passed her a stick of cotton candy.

"Didn't I say I'll treat you to one during the festival?"

She broke into a smile, her eyes forming little half-moons as she thanked him. Hayabusa, looking at her smiling while holding on to the cotton candy he made, found himself smiling back at her too.

Aina nudged her friends, whispering among themselves. Some of Hayabusa's lackeys smirked at each other, snickering behind their teeth.

Outside the classroom, standing just in the shadows and watching the scene unfold in front of them was Fukase.

* * *

Fukase went up to a little Year One delinquent. The Year One was fresh, scared of him, and eager to please him. He asked the little Year One about Sakamoto's popularity in an innocent way.

"Yes!" the Year Old exclaimed. "That Sakamoto sure is popular! All the girls in his class love him!"

"All?" Fukase smiled.

"Yes! Almost all! There are a few girls that don't go crazy over him, like this one tall girl, this other short girl... and this medium height girl with ribbons in her hair! But I bet if Fukase-san is in his class all the girls will go mad over you!"

"Girl with ribbons, huh?" Fukase thought of the girl that smiled at Hayabusa sweetly. Her smile was as sweet as the cotton candy he made her. (And as sweet as the scar Fukase left on his face.) He remembered that she had ribbons in her hair.

Fukase smiled again, this time to himself.

\- X -

The next day, Fukase approached Hayabusa.

"Fukase-san."

Fukase saw him square up his shoulders, clench his fists, and the way his blue eyes flashed with a kind of strength. Fukase knew that he can't hurt the Year Two physically, even if he commanded the whole gang of delinquents to beat him up.

(Besides, getting back at Hayabusa was a side game. His main concern was still Sakamoto.)

"I decided that getting rid of Sakamoto is too boring," he said. "This Sakamoto is too strange, too popular. Playing with him would just be a waste of time."

He saw Hayabusa's shoulders relax. "Ah, yes, Fukase-san. I'm sure Sakamoto is too much of a waste of your precious time. There are other ways of amusing yourself when you're in town-"

"Indeed." Fukase smiled. "I found a cute kouhai that I want to play with. Coincidentally, she's in Sakamoto's class too. She's quite a pretty little thing; long green hair, red ribbons in her hair, and red eyes."

He found pleasure in seeing the look of shock that flashed through Hayabusa's face. He anticipated seeing that same shock on Sakamoto's face when he gets that classmate to turn against him.

"If only I can get someone to introduce me to her... Do you know her, Hayabusa-kun?"

Hayabusa swallowed. "No, Fukase-san. I don't."

"Oh?" he smiled again. "I thought I saw you talk to her before. Shame. If you know her, I'll definitely play with her. But since you don't, I'll find other ways of amusing myself."

Hayabusa could only nod.

* * *

Days following the incident, Midori was in class during break, surreptitiously glancing at her phone, yet only to be greeted with no new messages. Hayabusa senpai usually replied to her in due time, but she hasn't heard from him for days. Feeling rather vexed and worried all at once, she slipped a few coins into her pocket, making her way out of class to buy a drink.

At the vending machine, she saw Hayabusa himself taking a carton of juice from the dispenser, with two of his lackeys trailing after him.

"Hayabusa senpai!" Midori called, smiling as she ran up to him.

He stopped in his tracks, a few feet away from her. Without even turning back, he said dismissively. "What do you want?"

His voice made her freeze.

"I-I just wanted to say hi. Senpai haven't been answering my text lately, so I was wondering if everything was alright… "her voice trailed off.

"I'm not obliged to answer your text. I hate being tied down, so why should I waste my time with some little Year One?" he glanced over his shoulder at her, looking at her coldly.

Midori's eyes widened in shock, and glistened with tears.

"Just go back to being Sakamoto's classmate." He turned away, his back facing her.

He heard the pattering of footsteps. He clenched his teeth in annoyance, shutting his eyes. He didn't need to turn back to know that girl ran away. She probably ran to some quiet corner to privately cry, and he's not surprised, with what the way he treated her and all.

His lackeys looked at each other uncomfortably. "Senpai…"

He raised a hand, signalling for their silence. "It's for the best. As long as I cut ties with her during Fukase-san's stay in town, and as long as she stays with her class, she should be free from him."

\- X -

Meanwhile, Midori ran into an empty classroom. Once alone and realising that this classroom was the exact same classroom where Hayabusa once saved her from, she allowed herself to cry in her hands.

"My, my," a soft and dark voice murmured. "A pretty thing like you shouldn't be crying."

She looked up. Amidst her tears, she saw a pale lanky figure emerge from the corner of the class. He had neat black hair and cold red eyes.

For some reason, she was compelled to spill her tears to him.

"H-he said," she choked on her sobs. "S-senpai said… to just go back to- to Sakamoto's classmate-" a fresh wave of tears was brought to her eyes as she relived their encounter.

"Dear me," he said, walking up to her. He took her chin between her fingers, lifting her face up to meet her eyes. He smiled. "Sounds to me that this Sakamoto guy ruined your relationship with your dearest senpai."

Midori, enchanted by this mysterious schoolmate, could only nod.

"Why should Sakamoto be allowed to have his perfect life when you just lost your senpai? Isn't it unfair? You should ruin his relationship with teachers; the same way he did to your relationship with your senpai."

She nodded again, hanging on to his every word.

"Now, here is what you should do…"

* * *

"Alright!" the math teacher clapped her hands. "Before we end today's lesson, may I request for everyone to hand in their homework?"

Sakamoto reached into his bag, only to find his math homework missing.

"What is this?" the teacher said, shocked. "Sakamoto, you didn't do your work?"

The class stared at Sakamoto. Midori pursed her lips, her bag seemingly more suspicious looking, now that all of Sakamoto's homework due today were shoved in it.

He paused. "… it appears that I left it at home. My apologies, sensei."

\- X -

After break, the literature teacher walked into class, frowning at the litter strewn around the front of the class.

"Terrible!" he clicked his tongue, flipping through the class's register. "Let's see who is on cleaning duty today… Sakamoto! Did you not see this mess?"

The class started whispering. Midori had waited, during break, for Sakamoto to finish cleaning the classroom spotless. Then she trashed the entire area around the teacher's table, so that the teacher will definitely scold him.

Sakamoto's glasses flashed. "My apologies, sensei."

\- X -

Similar incidents repeated throughout the day.

"Sakamoto! You didn't bring materials for my lesson? How dare you!"

"Sakamoto! This isn't acceptable!"

"Sakamoto!"

 _"Sakamoto!"_

\- X -

Things got so bad that the next day, during homeroom, their teacher gave him a stern warning.

"… the teachers expected very different from such a promising student like yourself, Sakamoto-kun. One more conflict with another teacher, and you'll have a black mark in your record. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sensei!" some girls cried. "There must be a mistake! Sakamoto-kun would never-"

"Understood," he quietly said. Then he spread a bunch of homework written in cursive on spotless, flawless, _perfect_ white paper in a fan shape on his table. "That is why I redid all my misplaced work from yesterday."

"Kya~!" the girls (and Atsushi squealed). "Sakamoto-kun! You're so cool!"

The teacher seemed taken aback before recomposing herself. "Yes, we expect nothing less from Sakamoto-kun."

Midori gritted her teeth.

* * *

The hours passed, and soon, it was lunch time. After making sure that her classmates were in the cafeteria enjoying lunch, Midori silently made her way to the classroom, with their homeroom teacher's favourite marker in her grip.

The mysterious schoolmate's instructions replayed themselves in her head. " _Sakamoto's rapport with the teachers seemed stronger than ever. This calls for drastic measures. Take this marker; it's your homeroom teacher's favourite. Put it with his things. The teacher will be anxiously looking for it, and when she sees it with him, she'll be so angry that she'll make all the teachers hate him. Good job, little kouhai."_

Once in the classroom, she walked to Sakamoto's table. She picked up his pencil case, and was about to place the teacher's marker in it when…

"Katagi-san."

She dropped his pencil case in shock, and whirled around see Sakamoto standing at the doorway of the class, looking at her.

"Sakamoto-!" she tightened her grip on the marker.

His gaze fell on it. "Sensei's favourite. I hear that she lost it and is anxiously looking for it."

He stepped into the class. Midori took a step back, swallowing nervously.

"Now, if you can just wait a moment; our guest will be arriving shortly."

Just as he said that, they heard a pattering of footsteps. A familiar blond skidded to a halt at the doorway, resting his hand on the doorframe while breathing heavily.

"Sakamoto!" he said hastily once he saw the boy. "You said that Midori is with Fukase?! Where is she?! Is she alright?!"

Sakmoto turned his gaze towards Midori. Hayabusa turned towards the direction of Sakamoto's gaze, and the moment he laid eyes on her, his shoulder sagged in relief.

"Thank god," he said. He hung his head, letting out a sigh of relief. "I thought he got her. Oi, Sakamoto! I was worried when you said that he's with her, dammit! That's not something you should be joking about!"

Midori was alarmed to see Hayabusa so frantic about her safety. Her gaze was drawn to his jacket's front pocket, where part of a red charm was hanging out. Her eyes widened.

 _'The charm I gave senpai!'_

"I… I thought senpai hated me!" She cried. " _He… he_ told me that I should ruin Sakamoto's relationship with teachers the same way Sakamoto ruined my relationship with senpai-! But why… I… don't- I don't understand…"

Hayabusa's eyes narrowed. " _'He_ '?"

Sakamoto's glasses flashed as he adjusted them.

"The mysterious senpai with the neat black hair and red eyes…"

"Fukase!" Hayabusa cursed, slamming his fist against the doorframe. "Dammit! It's another ploy set up by him! All along, he wanted to make use of Midori to ruin Sakamoto's popularity, especially since his previous attempt failed! And I walked right into his trap like an idiot! Dammit!" he cursed again.

 _'Fukase.'_ The name rang a bell in her head. ' _The same guy who got those two morons to frame Sakamoto about the spoiled balloon display for Cultural Festival!'_ She felt as if she was struck by lightning.

Her knees buckled, and she leaned against Sakamoto's table. "I… I've been tricked… and turned against Sakamoto."

She looked at him, sorry written all over her face.

"Sakamoto… I'm so sorry… It was me; I was the one who hid your homework and I was going to place sensei's marker in your pencil case, just so sensei will hate you-"

"My marker!" a fourth voice shouted.

Their homeroom teacher ran into the classroom, and grabbed her marker from Midori's hand. She clutched the marker to her heart. "Oh, my marker! We are reunited again! Oh! … What is it doing with you, Katagi-chan?"

Midori was about to confess to taking it, ready to embrace the punishment the teacher will give her. "I-"

"Katagi-san found it," Sakamoto cut in.

She looked at him in shock.

"She was asking me if it's your marker – just to make sure and not give you any sort of false happiness – and was just about to pass it to you."

"Oh, thank you so much, Katagi-chan!" the teacher gushed, making her way out of class. "It's still lunch time, so enjoy your break, students!"

Sakamoto inclined his head to Midori and Hayabusa politely and walked out as well, leaving them alone.

* * *

Hayabusa and Midori walked towards the vending machine in silence.

"T-thank you," she said as he passed her a can of drink.

They drank in silence.

"I'm sorry, senpai." Midori was the first to break the silence. "I was so upset that I didn't think things through – the Hayabusa senpai I know would never be so mean. I was so stupid to just blindly listened to Fukase… and I almost hurt Sakamoto."

"It's my fault as much as it is yours." He threw his empty can in the trash. "I was manipulated by him into cutting contact with you. I shouldn't have been so blind."

She bowed her head, her cheeks burning with shame.

She felt a hand on her head.

"Next time," she heard him say. "Don't go around listening to other senpais. I'm the only senpai you should be talking to."

He gave her head a pat.

She was so overcome with a flurry of emotions – remorse, sadness, guilt, and most importantly, happiness – that she threw herself into Hayabusa's arms, throwing her arms around him and burying her head in his chest.

"I'm so, so, so sorry, senpai!"

He stiffened for a second, his cheeks heating up. He placed on hand on her head, and another at the small of her back.

"There, there," he said.

\- X -

At the classroom on the floor above them, Fukase looked out of the window and at the scene below him. His plan was foiled again, but it was entertaining to watch the way things unfold.

"Well, well," he said, shaking his head. "Since it was so entertaining, I'll let Hayabusa-kun and his little kouhai off for now."


	5. Sakamoto VS Teachers and Schoolmates

Recently in school, sightings of anti-smoking campaign posters have been pasted all over the class and corridors of the Year One block.

Kakuta sensei nodded at his posters as he walked down the corridor with another teacher proudly. "I realised that more of the Year Ones – especially those who make trouble – have been smoking. I decided that in the name of good health, this must be stopped! I'm sure that my posters will do the trick."

Sakamoto walked by Kakuta sensei and overheard the teacher. He adjusted his glasses.

On his way back to class, he crossed the paths of some Year One delinquents who were pointing at the posters and laughing.

"As if we'll stop smoking because of these posters! Ha!"

He didn't say anything, only made his way to the candy dispenser and bought a few packs of gum.

Afterwards, he went back to his class.

"Oh, it's Sakamoto!" Atsushi said. "Yo!"

He didn't reply. Instead, he took out a few pieces of different coloured gum.

Ken-Ken and Mario guffawed. "Gum? Middle schoolers eat these stuff-"

They trailed off as Sakamoto moved his hands gracefully, using the small pieces of gum to create a larger piece of gum. He gently placed it in his mouth, and a blew a bubble that reflected the colours of the rainbow.

The class stared at him in amazement.

The bubble popped, and multi-coloured sparkles filled the class. The girls gasped, eyes sparkling.

"Beautiful!" they cried.

"Cool-!" the boys said in awed silence.

Atsushi stood up, eyes shining and cheeks flushed. "Sakamoto! Teach me how to do that!"

\- X -

Days following that, Kabuta sensei nodded approvingly as he walked along the corridors with another teacher. "More Year Ones have been starting chewing gum. The rate of them smoking have dropped dramatically! This must be because of my campaign!"

He pumped his fist in the air determinedly. "I shall make it my mission to stop smoking in school totally! Now that I covered the Year Ones, I shall move on to the Year Twos!"

With that, he plastered the same posters all around the Year Two block.

Sakamoto overheard the teacher's words again. He observed a bunch of Year Two delinquents passing by the posters, laughing the moment they saw it.

"Look, Hayabusa-san!" they guffawed. "As if we will stop smoking because of some poster! Ha!"

Hayabusa rolled his eyes and continued walking forward. The delinquents trailed after him, sighing at how cool Hayabusa is.

"Hayabusa-san, please tell me! How is it that you're able to so effortlessly top your classes?"

Hayabusa didn't reply. He wasn't paying attention, for he just crossed paths with Midori.

"Hello, senpai!" Midori beamed at him.

"Midori Miho," he said. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as she walked passed him.

The delinquent who was ignored was crestfallen.

The other delinquent laughed. "Looks like senpai ignored you for that little Miho! This shows how important you are!"

The first delinquent clenched his fist in determination. "I will be as cool as Hayabusa-san! Then he'll see my importance!"

Sakamoto observed the scene in front of him while adjusting his glasses.

\- X -

After school, Sakamoto went to the Midori Jinja and offered incense while praying.

"Oh," Midori said. "Not much people do that nowadays."

He offered incense in such a spiritual and graceful way that he attracted the attention of all worshippers, prompting them to all offer incense as well.

Midori coughed, overwhelmed by the smoke.

\- X -

The next day in school, Midori was secretly texting Hayabusa again during lunch. They were talking about classmates and friends, and Midori revealed to him that it's a little lonely for her during lunch as she didn't have very close friends in class.

 _'_ _After all, I spend most of my time after school in the shrine and not hanging out with classmates. (LOL)'_

Hayabusa replied. ' _You can always come and find me during breaks.'_

A few minutes after Hayabusa sent out that text, he saw Midori come up to him.

"Hi senpai!" she said, taking a seat next to him on the bench.

He nodded at her. "How did you know where to find me?" After all, he was at the rooftop, and not many people go there.

She smiled. "I asked your fans where you are, of course!"

"And how did you know they were 'my fans'?"

"They all wear jackets the way you do, senpai." She snickered. "Cropped jackets."

Hayabusa glanced down as his school jacket. The hem was short, and it only reached his chest.

"Well," he retorted. "At least I'm not the one walking around with two ribbons in my hair."

"Oh? At least it looks cute on me." She looked pointedly at his braids in his ponytail. "But then again... I can say the same for you, senpai."

"You have it coming straight if you think I let you walk out alive after calling me that."

They silently looked at each other for a moment before she burst out laughing. Hayabusa snorted in a quiet laugh before taking a puff of his cigarette.

Midori started coughing. Hayabusa made a move to put out his cigarette.

"No, no," she protested while coughing. "It's fine! I've just been hypersensitive to smoke lately. A lot of people been offering incense at the shrine suddenly. Don't worry about it."

He didn't say anything.

\- X -

The following day, the Year Twos started noticing that Hayabusa stopped smoking and asked him about it.

He took a sip from his carton of juice. "Some people are hypersensitive to smoke. It's a hassle to suddenly stop smoking in front of them, so I decided to just quit totally."

They looked at him adoringly, close to tears. "Senpai! You're so thoughtful! So cool!"

\- X -

"Say," Kabuta sensei after that while walking down the corridor with another teacher. "I noticed that a lot of Year Twos stopped smoking, too! It must be because of my campaign. It's a success!"

Sakamoto heard him and adjusted his glasses, allowing a smile to grace his features. "Secret Technique: Tackling the Leader."

* * *

"Ya know," one of the Year One delinquents who happened to be a huge fan of Hayabusa said to another on one fine day. "I don't think anyone has beaten up Sakamoto before."

The other nodded. "I heard that Atsushi of his class tried once. Didn't work out, I think."

The first delinquent nodded. "Why don't we do it?"

So they decided to try.

\- X -

When school started, they lurked around the lockers, waiting for Sakamoto to appear. The moment he did, they lunged at him.

Sakamoto knelt down to adjust his indoor shoes, neatly sidestepping the two. The two delinquents hit the lockers right smack in the face.

During break, they saw him walking pass the courtyard. This time, they lunged at him with their fists outstretched and ready to hit him.

Sakamoto glanced up at the tree he was walking by and spotted a sparrow on its branches.

"Bird-san," he said.

Just as the delinquents' fists were about to touch him, he gracefully leaped up onto the branches and high up the tree, eager to converse with the sparrow. The delinquents' ended up punching the tree.

"This time," the two delinquents said while waiting at a corridor after break. "We'll get him!"

They ran towards Sakamoto from two directions – one from the back and another from the front, ready to hit him for once and for all.

Sakamoto knelt to the ground, as if playing limbo, and effortlessly sailed passed through the gap between the front delinquents' legs. The two delinquents ended up colliding with each other.

\- X -

"Sakamoto did this to you?" Hayabusa's eyebrows raised.

The two delinquents nodded pathetically, choking on fake sobs. They certainly looked pathetic, with their red faces, bruised knuckles, and blue-blacks all over their bodies.

"Senpai!" they cried. "Please, avenge us! Knock him up real bad!"

Hayabusa wasn't convinced. He didn't think Sakamoto would actually hurt anyone, and he didn't think that it was that easy for anyone to actually lay a finger on Sakamoto.

He was about to refuse the two when Maruyama spoke up.

"Come on, Hayabusa," he sneered. "What happened to you promising the Year Ones that you'll always look out for them once they present you with their loyalty?"

Hayabusa sighed, and decided to just punch Sakamoto once for the sake of pacifying his juniors after classes end for the day.

\- X -

"Katagi-chan," Fujita called after classes ended for the day. "Could you stay for a bit? You're on cleaning duty today."

"Alright!" she replied, picking up a broom, and started to sweep the front of the class.

Sakamoto took his bag and walked outside towards the front of the door. As he left, he slid the door shut after him, allowing Midori to clean the class without worrying about the dust escaping outside.

"Yo, Sakamoto," Hayabusa said as he walked down to corridor towards Sakamoto, gaining speed as he did so. "I heard from my boys that you roughed them up a bit today. I'm here to return the favour!"

He lunged towards Sakamoto with his fist extended as he said that. Sakamoto adjusted his glasses, and side stepped. Just as he stepped away from the classroom door, it was slid open by Midori who just finished sweeping the front of the class.

Hayabusa's eyes widened as his momentum caused him to be unable to skid to a sudden stop. Midori looked up from her sweeping and gasped.

The bell at the end of Omamori charm Hayabusa kept in his jacket pocket rang.

There was flurry of motion and impact, followed by a loud thud. Those in the classroom and outside crowded around the doorway area, looking at the scene in front of them.

Hayabusa had collided straight into Midori, and the impact sent both of them flying backwards and onto the floor of the classroom. Midori landed on her back, and Hayabusa landed on top of her, his legs straddling hers, and his palms on either side of her head, effectively caging her body within his frame.

Most importantly, his lips were on hers.

They stared at each other in shock, neither moving from their position. The class hooted and squealed.

"Kya~!" the girls shrieked.

"Whoo senpai!" Atsushi shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

"My, my," Sakamoto mused to himself, adjusting his glasses again. "Isn't it a good thing that no teachers are around?"

Hayabusa jolted back to reality at the sound of their voices. With his hands, he hoisted his upper body above Midori's, breaking out of their accidental kiss.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Midori blinked at him. "Senpai, could you… stand?"

His cheeks colored, and he quickly got up, offering his hand to her and helping her to feet as well. She dusted her skirt, and Hayabusa cleared his throat.

She grabbed her broom off the floor and said, "Oh, look at the dust! I still need to clean the class. Could you and your fans leave, senpai? I need to hurry so I can go back to the shrine. I'm sure worshippers are dying to pray to god, haha."

She was rambling – something she never does - , and she turned her back to him while pretending to be busy sweeping the inside of the class. She heard Hayabusa mutter a quick _'right'_ before he left. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Oh my!" some girls ran up to her, crowding around her. "That was sooo romantic! You got to kiss one of the most handsome guys in school, and he's even our senpai! You're so lucky, Katagi-chan!"

Midori's fingers touched her lips, face still flushed from the memory. ' _That… was my first kiss.'_

(Of course, this incident did not change anything between them. They still continued texting, bumping into each other in school, and sometimes having lunch together. They continued their strange kouhai-senpai friendship as per normal, with the memory of their accidental first kiss bright in their minds.)

* * *

"Come, girls," Aina said to Yagi and Tanaka one day in school before lessons began. "Let me teach you one of Aina-chan's lesser talked about, but still effective way of getting boys to chase after you!"

The three of them sat around Aina's table, and the moment she said that, Yagi and Tanaka placed away their magazine and mirror, looking at her in interest.

"See," Aina said, folding her hands on top of her table. "For boys to want to chase you, they first have to see you as girlfriend material."

Yagi and Tanaka nodded in rapt attention.

"There are many ways to let boys see you as girlfriend material. But to achieve that, you have to first and foremost understand what does it mean to be in a relationship." She flipped her pigtails behind her shoulders, smirking. "To do that, you have to learn how to identify a couple in a relationship."

They blinked.

Yagi scratched the back of her head. "I was following you really well, Aina-san, until you said the part about learning how to identify a couple."

Tanaka nodded in agreement.

"Most girls would overlook this step. But it's so important! Think about it – to be a good literature student, you have to first understand what makes a writing a piece of literature, and how to identify trashy books from literature works."

"Ah," Tanaka said, pondering over her words. "That makes sense."

Aina smirked again. "I have done research and come up with three top signs of when two people are a couple. Once you learn this, you will be able to channel this knowledge, and then boys will see you as girlfriend material!"

Yagi and Tanaka clapped, thoroughly convinced.

"The first sign that two people are in a relationship is when they text each other regularly, even if it means using their phones secretly in class."

They heard a muffled giggle from the front of the class. They turned, only to see Midori secretly using her phone under the table, her fingers dancing across the screen.

"Say," Yagi said in a low whisper as the three girls' huddled together. "Katagi is always using her phone, isn't she?"

"Maybe she's a gamer," Tanaka whispered back.

"Only one way to find out." Aina stood up and skipped to Midori, Yagi and Tanaka following in toll.

"Katagi-chan~!" Aina said in her high pitched girly voice. "You looked so cute while texting! What's the joke you're laughing at?"

Midori hid her phone under the table, and answered while smiling in bliss, "My friend was just insulting the way I text with emoticons."

' _That's something to feel happy about?!'_ The three girls thought in shock.

Aina recomposed herself. "Your friend sounds cool! But not as cool as Sakamoto-kun. Who is your friend?"

Midori smiled, casting her eyes downwards, dismissively replying that it's just a friend from school.

The three girls went back to Aina's desk, huddling close together.

"I don't see Katagi really having close friends in our class," Tanaka said.

"Maybe from another class?" Yagi whispered back.

"No. I never really see her talking to those from our year." Aina stood up, determined. "It must be someone from a different year!"

The two girls gasped, watching Aina as she skipped towards the delinquents in class, asking them something cutely. Ken-Ken and Mario blushed, eagerly replying to her. A few moments later, Aina walked back to her desk, smirking.

"Well?" Yagi and Tanaka probed.

"There's only one person Katagi is close enough to text regularly." Her eyes flashed. "Hayabusa-senpai from Year Two! Apparently she has a crush on him!"

They gasped again.

"... Shrine maidens can have crushes?" Tanake wondered.

"Now that we know the first step of identifying a couple, what should we do?" Yagi asked.

"Stupid!" Tanake said. "We learn from that!" Her gaze fell to Sakamoto, who was sitting at his table, looking at a sparrow outside of the window.

The three sighed, looking at him in a daze.

"Right." Aina stood up again. "I will ask Sakamoto-kun for his number!"

She went back to him. "Sakamoto-kun~! Can Aina-chan have your number?" She twiddled with her fingers cutely. "Sometimes Aina-chan doesn't know how to do homework… and Aina-chan would love to ask you for help!"

Sakakmoto glanced at her before adjusting his glasses. "Sorry, I am afraid I do not own a phone."

Aina trailed back to her seat dejectedly. Then she sat up straight. "It's okay! Aina-chan still have two tricks up her sleeve!"

Lunchtime rolled about, and the three girls regrouped at Aina's table once more.

"The second sign is if the two spend lunch together once in a while."

The three turned their gaze towards Midori. She took out her bento and quickly left the class. The three girls nodded, stood up, and tried to follow her.

"Aina-chan!" Mario called. "Where are you going?"

Yagi and Tanaka gritted their teeth in annoyance.

"Aina-chan is just... Following Katagi-chan! We heard that she's on her way to feed birds! Aina-chan loves birds!"

Yagi and Tanaka nodded, and the three left the class.

Mario and Ken-Ken looked at Atsushi. "Acchan, let's follow them!"

Atsushi looked unconvinced. He was about to reject them when he saw Sakamoto stand up, walking towards the door.

"Sakamoto-kun," Kubota called. "Where are you going?"

"I want to see the birds too. I have brought bread for them."

Kubota trailed after him, and the two left the class.

Atsushi stood up, declaring that they saw indeed follow the girls (and Sakamoto).

Thus, the eight of them stealthily followed each other, until they found themselves at a rooftop. They peered from the corner of a wall, trying to see what – and who – Midori was laughing lunch with.

"Your head is blocking me-!" Tanaka hissed to Aina.

"Shush!" Aina hissed back, craning her neck. "A bit more, and I can see who she is sitting on the bench with- Oh!"

"What?" all eight heads craned their necks.

They were met with the sight of Midori sitting on a bench, with no other than Hayabusa next to her. They were eating – her, a bento, and him, a lunch pack sandwich – and Midori was talking to him. At some point, rice got on her side of her mouth.

Hayabusa pointed at it, and Midori laughed. His hand reached out, touching her cheek, and with his thumb, he got the rice off. She smiled at him, her eyes making half-moons. He gave her a small smile in return.

The girls sighed dreamily. Mario and Ken-Ken were busy jotting down notes. Sakamoto adjusted his glasses, observing disappointedly that there were no birds before walking his way back to class. Kubota followed after him.

\- X -

By the time Midori returned to class, the eight of them had already gotten back a while ago. The moment she stepped into class, the three girls ran up to her, forming a crowd around her.

"Katagi-chan~! We saw you having lunch with Hayabusa senpai - when we happened to go to the roof by chance!"

"Yeah! By chance!"

"Are you guys dating?"

"Huh? Eh…" she smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "We just had lunch together… how does that make us dating…?"

"But if you have lunch with someone, it means that you're likely to be dating them~"

"Eh?! I'm pretty sure he just sees me as a kouhai..."

As the three girls continued pestering Midori, Kubota looked at Sakamoto in confusion.

"Those girls are sure making a fuss. We have lunch together everyday, does that make us a couple?"

Sakamoto smiled, adjusting his glasses.

Atsushi, overhearing that, stood up in shock. He marched straight to Sakamoto's table, jabbing a finger in his direction.

"Sakamoto! Do you think you're better than us! From now onwards, I shall eat lunch with you too! That'll teach you!"

"Go, Acchan!" Mario and Ken-Ken hooted.

"Aina-chan wants to have lunch with Sakamoto-kun too!"Aina cried, her attention directed back to Sakamoto.

"Us too, us too!" the girls in the class chorused.

"Understood," Sakamoto said calmly, unwrapping his Onigri so stylishly that the girls in the class decided that they loved Onigri.

\- X -

"The third sign," Aina said to Yagi and Tanaka as school ended for the day, putting her books in her bag. "... is the final sign to tell if two people are in a relationship. It is… if they walk home together."

The moment she said that, the door slid open, and someone walked into the class. The three gasped as they saw Hayabusa walk in.

"Hayabusa-senpai!" Atsushi cried.

Hayabusa gave him a nod before walking straight to where Midori was. "Midori Miho. I'm thinking of going to the shrine."

She smiled. "I'm just about to make my way there!"

The two of them left class together, and the three girls hurriedly ran to the windows. From the window, they saw the pair walking out of the school together.

"They did all three!" Yagi exclaimed. "They text each other, they had lunch together…"

"… and since the shrine is technically Katagi's home," Tanaka followed. "It means they're walking home together too!"

"I think this means that Katagi is really in a relationship with Hayabusa-senpai! Aina-chan is never wrong!"

(Of course, the joke is on her – Midori and Hayabusa were not dating, they just had a strange kouhai-senpai friendship.)

"Those girls are so funny," Kubota said to Sakamoto while slinging his bag over his shoulder. "We walk home together too. We're not dating."

Sakamoto adjusted his glasses, picking up his bag. "Well then, Kubota, shall we go?"

Atsushi looked at the pair in shock before running up to them. "Sakamoto! I'm not done with you! I'll walk home with you from now on! That'll teach you!"

"Teach what?" Kubota asked, confused.

Kubota's question was ignored. The girls in the class started clamouring to walk home with Sakamoto too.

And that was how Sakamoto left the school with nearly the whole class following after him.


	6. Salted Caramel Ice Cream

"What's that?" Hayabusa asked Midori during break one day.

As the later months of the year rolled about, the weather was staring to get chilly. Instead of going to the roof like they usually would if they decided to spend a break with each other, they went to North Landing instead.

(Midori had asked him where did the rest of his gang went to. He shrugged, commenting dismissively that they probably went to somewhere with a heater. What he didn't tell her was how he commanded the rest of the gang to spend that day's specific break anywhere _but_ at the North Landing.)

"Salted caramel mini-ice cream," she said, unwrapping the wrapper and folding it at the ice cream stick.

"You're eating ice cream in this weather…"

She shrugged, grinning. "That's why it's a _mini_ ice cream."

He scoffed. "You'll finish that thing in two bites."

She waved it at him. "Senpai, want a bite?"

He looked away, muttering something about how things that are meant to be sweet should remain sweet, and not take on the flavor of something salted. She only laughed before she took a bite of her ice cream.

He looked at her, a smirk playing on his lips. "On second thoughts, sure, let me have a taste."

She offered the half-bitten ice cream out. He stood in front of her and took hold of her wrist. Instead of guiding her wrist forward and taking a bite of the offered treat, he pushed her wrist backward, causing her back to come into contact with the wall behind her.

Then he leaned in and kissed her, smirking while doing so as he watched her eyes widen and her arms stiffened.

The ice cream dropped out of her hand and onto the ground.

His eyes closed. His hand released grip on her wrist, and rested on the part of the wall next to her head while his other hand touched her cheek, tilting her face up for better access to her lips. Her eyes fluttered shut and her cheeks flushed. She felt herself weak in the knees and her hands clung to the front of his jacket – if not for him, the wall, and her hold on his jacket, she would have fell to the ground already.

Hayabusa-senpai was kissing her – this time voluntarily and so unlike their first, accidental _chaste_ kiss. This was a kiss that had lasted longer than their first and one that left Midori weak in her knees but still dying for more.

When he finally broke away from her, she was gasping for air, her cheeks more flushed than ever.

"… this salted caramel ice cream was sweeter than I expected from something of that kind of flavor." Hayabusa turned towards the direction of the corridor that would take them to the cafeteria. "Come with me, Midori Miho. I'll show you what is a _real_ ice cream."

She blinked, stunned. She shook her head and got her bearings back, quickly pushing herself off the wall and followed after him. Once they were walking side by side, they matched their pace to fit each other's.

"If that wasn't a real ice cream, then what was it?" she mused.

"An imitation of a real one. A mere copy."

"You mean the salted caramel ice cream or your fans?"

"Ha," he said dryly.

Midori giggled, her eyes forming little half-moons. Hayabusa secretly smiled when she wasn't looking. (There was no way he was going to let her know that he secretly found her wit amusing.)

* * *

The delinquents watched the scene before them in rapt attention, all the way until their beloved senpai and his little kouhai left the North Landing. Most of them were busy jotting down notes on how absolutely smooth the charming Hayabusa-senpai was, while a few were busy wiping their mouths, and one even had a nosebleed.

Although Hayabusa had told them to stay away from the North Landing, curiosity got better of them. They huddled at the stairs directly above the North Landing, where they had the perfect secret top view of everything that took place moments ago.

"Damn," Atsushi said with flushed cheeks. "Hayabusa-senpai is so cool!"

Mario nodded while scribbling notes down on his notebook. "I want to learn how to be as cool as him!"


	7. Merii Kurisumasu

**A/N: This chapter is 9000x more sappy than the others in view of the recent episode so I apologise in advance (no those are not tears streaming down my face what are you talking about ha ha ha)**

* * *

"Have a good day," Midori bowed to a visitor who left the shrine. "And Merry Christmas!"

She placed her hands in her kimono jacket pockets, curling around heat pads she left there. It was Christmas, and that meant that more people would be coming to the shrine with their families, offering respect to the ones above and praying for their loved ones. Of course, that also meant that she had to stand out in the cold more, and still wear her shrine maiden outfit as per normal.

The thought of the approaching lunch time comforted her.

 _'_ _Maybe I can cook curry rice,'_ she mused to herself. _'And have the leftover rice with miso soup for dinner tonight.'_

She was so caught up in her fantasises of what to have for her upcoming meals that she nearly missed greeting the family that came into the shrine.

She quickly bowed once she heard their approaching footsteps. "Welcome-"

Once she lifted her head, she stopped. There in front of her was Hayabusa-senpai, with a black haired boy up on his shoulders. Beside him was an elderly man with black hair and kind brown eyes, each of his hands holding on to the little hands of two blond twins.

"Senpai!" she said.

"… hn."

She quickly bowed again to the man beside him. "Nice to meet you, Hayabusa-san."

"Ah, you're Shou-kun's schoolmate?" he smiled. "I didn't know shrine maidens were so young nowadays!"

The boy riding on Hayabusa-senpai's tugged at his hair. "Ne, ne, Onii-chan, is she the secret girlfriend Otou-san was talking about?"

"Oi!" he sent a glare at the boy. "That's it, I'm really cutting your playtime!"

"Onii-chan is mean!" he cried.

The twins and Hayabusa's father laughed.

* * *

 _An hour before, Hayabusa's father looked at Hayabusa and smiled._

 _"_ _Shou, it's Christmas. Let's go pay respects to your mother."_

 _Hayabusa agreed, helping his father make sure that his brothers were all dressed warmly for the outside air, and they set off. His youngest brother insisted on riding on his shoulders, and he was listening to him chatter about school and his latest television cartoon, allowing his father to lead the way._

 _"_ _Look," his father said along the way, gesturing towards an approaching building. "That's your brother's school!"_

 _The twins looked at it in awe. Hayabusa looked, suddenly aware of their surroundings._

 _"_ _Aren't we going to pay respects to Okaa-san…?"_

 _His father laughed. "We are! The cemetery is closed for Christmas; don't you remember? We're going to the shrine behind your school!"_

 _"…_ _!" He looked at his father and his twins and thought about the shrine maiden at the shrine. "Can we go to another shrine, Oyaji?"_

 _"_ _Eh? We're already here! Why don't you want us to go to the green shrine? Don't tell me you hid the bodies of those you fought here."_

 _His father laughed._

 _Hayabusa rolled his eyes. "It's called the Midori Jinja, Oyaji. And don't be a moron."_

 _His father gave him a knowing smile. "Don't tell me you have a secret girlfriend hidden there, Shou!"_

 _"_ _Girlfriend!" the three boys chorused._

 _"_ _Tch! I'm cutting your playtime!" he started walking towards the shrine. "I have nothing to hide! Let's go!"_

 _His father laughed again._

* * *

After they paid their respects, Hayabusa was busy helping his siblings hang up their wooden plagues.

"Hayabusa-san," Midori said to his father. "Would you like to come inside the shrine? I have prepared some hot green tea."

"It would be great, if it's not a trouble."

"Not at all! I could use the company, Hayabusa-san."

His father smiled. "Just call me uncle, Midori-chan."

Once they went inside and sipped at their cups of tea, Midori brought out three Omamori charms, passing one to each children. Each of them squealed in delight, and began comparing their charms.

Hayabusa's father made a move to take out his wallet.

Midori quickly protested. "Please! Treat is as a token of my appreciation – senpai is always helping me out in school."

Hayabusa-senpai sighed. "You're impossible, Midori Miho."

"I can say the same for you, senpai."

Hayabusa's father looked around the room, then at the window where he had a view of the entire shrine. "Do you look after this shrine yourself, Midori-chan?"

She nodded. "My mother was the Midori Miho before I turned fourteen. She and my father are now working overseas, so here I am, trying my best to fulfil my duties as shrine maiden."

"Are your parents coming home for Christmas?"

"No." she casted her gaze downwards. "They said the snow is really heavy at… whatever country they're in right now, so they won't be spending Christmas with me." Then she smiled again. "But it's okay! The shrine gets busy during festive seasons! It's good that I don't need to worry about dinner preparations, haha!"

The three children were busy exploring the room. Hayabusa called after them, telling them to be mindful and not break anything in someone else's house. Midori giggled to herself and thought to herself about what a good brother Hayabusa-senpai is.

Hayabusa's father placed his cup down determinedly. "That won't do! You should always spend Christmas with people! Come to our house for dinner tonight!"

Hayabusa turned to look at his father in shock. "Oyaji-"

At the same time, Midori protested. "Uncle, I can't impose-"

"Come on, Shou-kun. Look; a little girl, having dinner by herself on Christmas?"

He rubbed the back of his neck and mumbled, "… if she doesn't find our house too messy and small and noisy… I suppose…"

His father turned to give Midori a warm smile. "I always make too much for dinner! I'm sure the children would like some other people to play with other than Shou and I. What do you say?"

"Yeah," Hayabusa said gruffly. "Don't reject an old man like him."

And thus, Midori accepted, thanking them profusely. From the corner of her eye, she spotted more visitors – Sakamoto and Kubota – and so she rose to her feet. Hayabusa's father followed suit while Hayabusa started calling for his brothers.

"Hello, Sakamoto, Kubota," Midori said as she went out to the shrine again.

"Ah, Sakamoto-kun!" Hayabusa's father said. "I haven't seen you since the other night! Allow me to properly thank you!"

"The other night?" Midori asked Hayabusa.

He sighed and then gave a half smile. "Long story. My old man and I can tell you about it tonight – Hey Ryuu, put on your jacket properly - . I'll text you the address in a bit."

He looked at her from head to toe. "Aren't you cold?"

She smiled, patting her pockets. "Heat packs! I'm used to it, and I'm wearing more under too."

He glanced at his father, engrossed in conversation with Sakamoto, at his brothers, chatting animatedly amongst themselves, and unwound the scarf around his neck. Then he wrapped it around Midori's neck.

She looked at him in surprise.

"… just so you don't get sick and cancel dinner with us. You can return it to me later."

"Actually, Sakamoto-kun, why don't you join us for dinner later! Midori-chan will be going too, you all know each other, don't you?"

That statement made Hayabusa and Midori both turn their attention to Hayabusa's father and Sakamoto. Sakamoto looked at them, frozen in motion, with Hayabusa's hands in the middle of adjusting his scarf around Midori's neck, and the light flush on her cheeks that was definitely not due to the cold.

Sakamoto adjusted his glasses. "Thank you for the offer, Hayabusa-san, but I already have plans tonight."

Hayabusa's father nodded understandably.

(Midori made a note to allow Sakamoto to feed all the birds that go to her shrine all he wished, whenever he wants.)

"We'll be taking our leave now," Hayabusa's father smiled, taking the hand of each twin. "See you later, Midori-chan!"

Hayabusa's youngest sibling squealed as he was lifted on his brother's shoulders. "Bye, Onee-chan!"

She waved goodbye to them. The moment they left, she turned to Sakamoto for help.

"Sakamoto-kun… what do you bring for a Christmas dinner?"

* * *

"Welcome, Midori-chan," Hayabusa's father greeted as he ushered her into their house.

"Sorry for intruding," she said, taking off her boots and then hanging her coat at the rack he gestured towards. She was dressed in a white sweater, red checkered skirt, and warm leggings. (She was not going to admit it, but she spent a full fifteen minutes deciding on what to wear). In her one hand she held onto a bag containing Hayabusa-senpai's scarf, and another she held a bag containing some food she brought.

"This is for you," she said, holding the bag with the food out shyly. "Thank you for having me."

"Oh, you shouldn't have!"

Hayabusa's youngest brother peeked into the bag. "Fruit tarts! Minced pies! Onigri!"

She ducked her head. "I never been to a Christmas dinner before, so forgive me if these snacks aren't acceptable."

Hayabusa's father waved off her concerns, reassuring her they were more than acceptable. On her way to the living room, she saw a photo frame displayed on top of a cabinet. It was a portrait of a beautiful, elegant woman with long blonde hair coiled in a style that suits her high cheekbones, and sharp, enchanting blue eyes.

Hayabusa-senpai was the splitting image of her.

"That's my late wife," Hayabusa's father said.

"My condolences," Midori said.

He smiled. "The children are good, so that is one less worry for me. Shou is a good boy – he helps out with his brothers so much. He's such a bright boy – if only he would stop getting into bouts…"

He laughed.

The twins ran to Midori, clamouring for her attention, taking hold of one of her hand each. They cried for her to follow them, for her to see their train collection.

The door opened. "Ryuu, Sora, be nice to our guest."

"Onii-chan!"

"Hayabusa-senpai," she smiled at him.

He nodded, shrugging his coat off and walking towards them. He handed a bag to his father. "Got the strawberry cake, Oyaji."

"Ah, that's nice! This will go well with the snacks Midori-chan brought."

He looked at her. "… you shouldn't have."

She laughed, tucking stray hair behind her ear. "It's only right! It's the least I can do, after intruding on your family dinner and all-"

"Onii-chan!" the twins cried, tugging at Midori's hands and pouting at their brother. "Stop hogging Onee-chan for yourself! Come and play with us!"

"You little rascals…"

\- X -

The rest of the night went off without a hitch.

Midori spent the time playing with the Hayabusa siblings and Hayabusa-senpai himself. During dinner, all of them ate heartily, with Hayabusa's father chatting animatedly about tales of Hayabusa's childhood and of their recent dinner with Sakamoto.

"… and when Sakamoto-kun pulled their stunt off with Shou here, I was so shocked!" Hayabusa's father said, cheeks flushed. "But of course, I was brave enough to wait till those hooligans and that extortionist ran off!"

"Yes," Hayabusa said dryly. "Very brave. So brave that he passed out."

"I didn't pass out!" he protested. "I was tired from all the food!"

"You're having too much champagne, Oyaji," Hayabusa said exasperatedly, a small fond smile playing on his lips.

"'Tis fine," his father said, a slight slur in his words. "Back in my days, I used to drink a lot more with your Okaa-san!"

"Can we drink like you, Otou-san?" the youngest Hayabusa boy asked, looking up from his fruit tart.

"When you're twenty-one," Hayabusa cut in.

He pouted. "That's like, when I'm an adult!"

Hayabusa ruffled his brother's hair.

One of the twins – Ryuu – smiled between mouthfuls of Onigri. "I love the snacks Onee-chan brought! Can Onee-chan come for dinner more?"

"Oi," Hayabusa started.

"Yes yes!" their father interjected. "Come by more, Midori-chan! It's not often we meet one of Shou's friends." He poured more champagne into his glass, smiling at Midori. "You know, Midori-chan… every morning before school, Shou here helps me with the dishes after making sure his brothers ate their breakfast."

She smiled back, warmly. "That's very nice of senpai."

His father raised his eyebrows at her, grinning. "That's the marking of a good husband!"

Hayabusa started choking on air. "Oi, Oyaji!"

"Onii-chan is getting married?" one of the brothers asked.

"Are we getting another Okaa-san?"

"Don't be stupid!" one twin shouted. "If Onii-chan marries we will get an Onee-chan!"

"Oh!" Sora exclaimed, looking at Midori with bright eyes. "Can Onee-chan be our real Onee-chan?"

"Sora!" Hayabusa barked. "Oyaji too! Look at what you started!"

His father waved his champagne glass at his eldest son. "Lighten up, Shou, it's Christmas!"

Midori looked at the lively household and found herself laughing along with them.

\- X -

After another hour or so, the three younger children have quietened down and went to the living room to watch a Christmas movie, huddling close together. Hayabusa's father, despite his insistence that he was not drunk, was having a lie-in beside the children.

"Come on," Hayabusa said, walking up and towards the coat rack. "I'll walk you home."

It was lightly snowing as they made their way down the streets and towards the shrine. Hayabusa was wearing the scarf Midori returned around his neck. She blew at her hands, regretting forgetting her gloves before she left the house.

Hayabusa didn't say anything, just took her hand and placed it in his pocket.

"Senpai…"

"Just so you don't freeze," he said. "I don't want to be held responsible."

She giggled. "I'll remind my lawyer that, then."

They chatted idly on their way ("I'm sorry about my old man and brothers." "Oh no, I liked them a lot; they're really lively and nice." "Only you would think that."), before they came to a stop at the front of the shrine.

Midori glanced up. They were standing under the shrine gate and the mistletoe she put up for decoration was there. Hayabusa turned to the direction of her gaze and his eyes too landed on the mistletoe.

She steeled herself, forcing herself to not run because of her nerves, before she leaned in and lightly kissed his cheek.

"Merry Christmas… Shou-kun," she said softly.

He startled for a split second before he gave her a small, warm smile. "Merry Christmas, Midori."

She smiled, making her way inside the shrine. "See you in school on Monday, Hayabusa-senpai!"

He rolled his eyes, smirking. "You're impossible, you know that, Midori Miho?"

She laughed, turning back to look at him one last time before disappearing inside. "As are you, senpai!"

It was a good Christmas for the both of them.


	8. For Coming Into This World

One day, just a week or two after New Year and just when the snow stopped falling, Midori received an almost cryptic text from Hayabusa.

' _Yo, Midori Miho. Would you say that we are practically dating?'_

Midori nearly dropped her phone in shock. She composed herself, channelling her inner calmness and typed out a reply.

\- X -

Meanwhile, in the Hayabusa household, Hayabusa sat at the dining table, gripping his phone, never taking his eyes off the screen. When it finally vibrated, alerting him of a new text, he almost dropped his phone while tapping it furiously to read it.

' _Does 'practically' exist because you're my senpai? LOL ^_~'_

Never in his life had Hayabusa wanted more than to punch an emoticon.

He growled in frustration, chucking his phone aside and resting his forehead in one palm. "Damn that Midori Miho," he muttered darkly.

His father chuckled, finished with placing the grocery in the fridge. "Trouble in paradise, Shou?"

He only grunted in reply.

His father walked over to him, patting his shoulder. "There, there. To her defense, you aren't the easiest book to read."

"I already asked if we're practically dating! What more do I need to do?"

"Does 'practically' exist because she's your kouhai?" his father mused to himself.

Hayabusa growled in frustration again. His father laughed, taking a seat beside him.

"Here, Shou," he said, taking a flyer out from the grocery bag. "They gave this to me when I was buying the cartoon bread the twins like so much. Maybe this can help you."

Hayabusa glanced at the flyer. "Star café….?"

\- X -

Sakamoto was at the grocery shop, shopping for more bird seeds to take to school the following week. He passed by a group of people from his class, huddled together and looking at a flyer.

"Look at that," Ken-Ken laughed. "A new café opened downtown, and it's about _stars_! Ha!"

Mario laughed as well, pointing at the photos printed on the flyer. "It looks like a regular café! White walls, brown tables and chairs, wood floor! Only difference is that they offer dessert inspired by each _planet!_ Hahaha!"

Atsushi looked up, catching Sakamoto's eye. "Yo Sakamoto! Look at this joke here!"

Sakamoto adjusted his glasses. "Dessert inspired by planets…"

He then took out his phone (he got one after Kubota asked him for tutoring help. He didn't tell Aina that, though.) and started dialing Kubota's number. "Kubota. I hear there's a newly opened café, do you want to go with me? ... Yes, this Sunday would be good."

Atsushi watched Sakamoto walk away, mouth hanging open in shock. He turned to Ken-Ken and Mario with a fire in his eyes. "Are we gonna let Sakamoto think he's better than us because he goes to some fancy café with desserts? No! We're going too!"

\- X -

On his way home, Sakamoto passed by the Midori Jinja, and walked in, deciding to try his newly bought bird seeds on the birds there.

"Oh, hello there, Sakamoto," Midori said, looking up from sweeping the floor.

He greeted her before taking a few bird seeds out. After a few moments, birds flew towards Sakamoto, eagerly feasting on the bird seeds. At the meantime, Midori's phone vibrated, and she read the newly received text.

She gasped, dropping her broom.

The birds flew off, scared. Sakamoto sighed dejectedly.

"Well, well," he said. "What do we have here?"

"Sorry," she said in a half whisper, half stammer. "I… received a shocking text, that's all."

 _'_ _As your senpai, I'm asking you to go with me to the star café downtown on Sunday.'_ The text read.

And that was how Midori found herself getting ready for a date at the new café downtown coming Sunday with her senpai.

* * *

Sunday came about and Hayabusa arrived at the designated meeting spot five minutes before the arranged meeting time.

A few minutes passed _after_ their arranged meeting time, and Midori was still nowhere to be found. Hayabusa took out his phone, checking the time, and was just about to call her when he heard a breathless voice behind him.

"Sorry I'm late, senpai!"

"Yeah, you should be - " he stopped when he turned.

Midori was dressed in a white winter coat and had a red skirt on, matching the red scarf wounded around her neck. She was catching her breath, and when she did, she looked up at him from under her eyelashes and smiled, her eyes forming little half-moons as she did so.

He swallowed, subconsciously adjusting the scarf around his neck to hide the flush on his cheeks. "… come on, let's go."

\- X -

At the café, all was going well for their first 'practically but not quite' a date. They ordered desserts each, and were eating while Midori was chattering animatedly away to Hayabusa. He made a dry remark, prompting her to laugh.

Kubota, sitting with Sakamoto some tables away, turned to look at Sakamoto. "They sure seem like a couple, don't they?"

He looked up from his Mars-themed cake. "We are eating together too. Do we seem like a couple as well?"

Atsushi, sitting at a table a few seats behind them gripped the edge of the table in anger. Mario and Ken-Ken quickly tried to pacify him.

The bell at the door tinkled, signalling that more people have entered the café. They were talking noisily, catching the attention of Midori and Hayabusa, as well as the rest. Once Midori saw the crowd that just entered, she paled.

There, in the middle of the men wearing baseball jackets and leather coats, stood a woman with her arms crossed. She had short dark purple hair, and cold calculating purple eyes.

"What's-" Hayabusa turned his gaze to the crowd. The moment he laid eyes on the woman, his eyes widened before a dark look came into his eyes. " _Her_."

"Senpai," Midori said, her voice no bigger than a squeak. "You know her?"

"Hn. You remember the extortionist my dad… dated? That's her."

Midori paled again, turning so white that she nearly matched the sweater she was wearing. "No way… she's the reason my parents refuse to come back to Japan."

He looked at her in surprise.

She elaborated. "Some years ago, when I just became the Midori Miho and when my mom was still teaching me… this woman met my dad. She, uh, fell in love with him at first sight and tried to follow him for dinner to ask him out, only to see that he has a wife, and a daughter who looks just like his wife. She was so angry…" she shook her head. "My parents were so terrified that they decided to take their work overseas. I stayed behind because I wanted to watch over the Midori Jinja."

Hayabusa let out a breath. "… is that why they don't come home to celebrate festive seasons?"

She smiled sadly. "There isn't that much snow in the world that can keep parents away. They _choose_ not to come back to Japan."

He touched her hand that was on the table. She smiled again, this time a genuine one.

"Well!" a sudden voice interrupted them. Their hands quickly broke contact. The extortionist had made her way to their table, and was smiling sweetly at them. "Shou-kun… and Midori-chan! What a small world we live in! I'm so glad that I decided to drop by this café today with my friends."

She gestured at the gang hovering near the entrance. They sneered at the pair.

"Having café food today, Shou-kun?" she smiled patronisingly. "No French cuisine?"

He gritted his teeth.

She turned to Midori, a cold look settling into her gaze. "Ah, Midori-chan. It was what, almost three years ago since I last saw you! I still remember it like it was yesterday."

"So do I," Midori said, a glare making its way onto her features.

"Ah! What a terrifying gaze! You look just like your mother when you do that! Goodness knows what Katagi-kun sees in her."

Her hand clenched into a fist. "Don't you dare talk about my parents-!"

Hayabusa grabbed her hand again, as if telling her to calm down. She took a deep breath.

The extortionist looked at their hands and gave them a condescending smile. "What a nice café to have a little date in. But so quiet! I'll take my leave now, but allow me to leave you with some entertainment."

She made her way to the exit, signalling something with her hands. The bell tinkled as she slipped out of the door. The gang smirked, making their way towards Hayabusa's table.

"A little kid," one said with a sneer. "This is easy money – paying us to take on a runt!"

Hayabusa clenched his teeth. He looked at Midori, who looked back at him with frightened eyes. ' _No, I must not do anything that can ruin this date.'_ He took a deep breath, willing himself to not lose his cool.

The gangster grabbed the scruff of Hayabusa's shirt. "Don't ignore me, ya runt!"

"Hayabusa-senpai!" Midori said, alarmed. "Ah-!"

The other gangster pulling her hair sneered. "Watch yourself, woman, before worrying about your little boyfriend."

A flash came to Hayabusa's eyes. He stood up, effortlessly throwing the first gangster over his shoulder onto the floor before punching the other. The both of them fell against an empty table, sending the table crashing to the ground.

The other guests shrieked, fleeing out of the café. The other gangsters started closing in on Hayabusa.

"Hayabusa-senpai!" Atsushi cried, standing up with Mario and Ken-Ken in tow. "We won't let you fight alone!"

But before the three could reach them, Sakamoto already did. He stood in front of the gangers, adjusting his glasses.

The remaining gangsters paled when they saw him. "It's the monster from that alley! He's after us again!"

As quick as they came, the gangsters grabbed their fallen members and left the store. Hayabusa heaved a sigh of relief, thanking Sakamoto. He scanned the café and its mess. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. _'Some first date. Bet Midori Miho hates me now.'_

He turned, expecting to see her grabbing her things and running far away. But instead, he saw her walking back from the front counter with a mop, and began to clean up the mess.

"This is nothing compared to the mess you get at the shrine," she said serenely. "Come on, senpai, let's clean up! You looked really cool when you flipped that guy, by the way. Can you flip a table that coolly, too?"

He was shocked, but he quickly snapped out of his trance. He smirked at her, hoisting the fallen table up. "Was that a challenge, Midori Miho?"

Atsushi and his friends, so moved and inspired by Hayabusa that they too grabbed mops and began to clean up the mess. Kubota pushed in the chairs neatly. Sakamoto borrowed a rag from the counter lady and started to clean the tables.

Sakamoto's cleaning was so captivating that those passing by could not help themselves but enter the café, taking a seat and watching Sakamoto while sipping their lattes in bliss.

At the end of the day, the few of them made their way to the counter and bowed their heads in apology to the person in charge.

The manager waved them away. "No, thank you kids instead! You all cleaned up the place so stylishly that I got more customers! I broke a record for the number of sales I made today! Consider your meals on the house!"

\- X -

Midori and Hayabusa walked along the streets, hand in hand. ("It's still cold," Hayabusa said, taking her hand in his. "I don't want to be held responsible for your frozen hands."). They had left the café and he was walking her home.

"Hey," he suddenly said. "I'm sorry."

Midori looked at him in surprise. "Why? The food was good, and we got it for free too!"

"No, I mean…" he sighed. "I messed up. It was supposed to be a nice, ordinary date, but you saw me fight and trash the place."

She laughed. "But you looked cool when you fought! Besides…" a small blush dusted her cheeks. "I was happy when you beat that guy up because he was harassing me."

They stopped outside the few steps leading the shrine's gate.

She smiled at him shyly. "Thank you for the memorable first date, Shou-kun." With that, she leaned in, softly kissed his cheek.

Before he could say anything else, she laughed, making her way up the steps and into the shrine. "I think that's practically a date! See you in school tomorrow, senpai!"

He sighed exasperatedly to himself, watching her disappear inside with a smile. _'What am I going to do with you, Midori Miho?'_

* * *

\- X X -

* * *

"Midori-chan," Hayabusa's father said to her while preparing hot water. "Did you know that Shou's birthday is next week?"

It was a few weeks after the new year, and at his father's (and brother's) insistence, Hayabusa had invited Midori to their house for dinner. She brought along a few homemade maki and also some chocolate cupcakes to satisfy the senpai's sweet tooth.

She looked up from her seat at the dining table in surprise. "I didn't know that."

His father softly chuckled. "I'm not surprised. That boy doesn't ever like to talk or celebrate his birthday... not since his mother passed on. I'm only saying this because he's not home right now."

Midori's gaze shifted to the front door, worried that Hayabusa-senpai will suddenly barge in as they were talking about him.

His father sighed. "Shou says he's gotten too old for birthdays and rather me invest time in celebrating his brothers' birthdays. But I know that boy – he just doesn't celebrate his birthday because it reminds him of his mother."

Midori swallowed, feeling her heart wrenched.

"This may be presumptuous of me to ask… but please, Midori-chan, if you can spare the time… would you please spend some time next week with Shou? He appreciates your company, and I would like him to celebrate his birthday somewhat-"

"It's not bother at all, uncle!" Midori cried. "I'd… I'd be honoured to spend time with senpai, on his birthday no less! Thank you for telling me-"

The door opened. "Tell you what?"

Hayabusa's father and Midori looked each other, frozen.

She quickly laughed, gesturing towards the tray of tea Hayabusa's father was holding. "S-senpai! Uncle was just teaching me the way to boil the perfect green tea! Did you know that the water had be to of the perfect temperature?"

"Huh," he said, walking towards the dining table, handing a bag of groceries his father told him to buy to him. He took a seat next to Midori, helping himself to a cup of tea. "The tea you make at the shrine taste the same as this," he commented after a sip.

Midori and Hayabusa's father secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

"Say, senpai," she said while his father was busy preparing the dishes for dinner. "Are you free next week?"

"Next week?" he rubbed his nose in thought, glancing at the calendar. Upon seeing nothing marked, he shrugged. "Yeah, I am."

She beamed. "I have some discount vouchers to this dessert buffet at the restaurant near school! The voucher can be only used for two pax, so would you like to come with me?"

"Dessert buffet, eh?" he mulled over her words while sipping more tea.

She gulped in anticipation.

He shrugged again. "Why not? I'll eat less for lunch that day."

She smiled from ear to ear. "Great!"

They arranged the meeting time and place, and just when they finished doing so, the door slammed, and the three Hayabusa brothers charged in. They were released from school, and the moment they saw Midori, they squealed. They ran towards her, clamouring for her attention and all trying to share with her some tale from school.

Hayabusa sighed when his brothers dragged her to the living room to see their toys. "Those rascals…"

* * *

The next day in school, Midori marched up to Sakamoto's table.

"Sakamoto!" she said, bowing to him. "I need your help!"

She explained her dilemma to him; how she was tasked to celebrate Hayabusa-senpai's birthday with him, and how they will be going to dessert buffet, and how desperately she wanted to make that day perfect.

"The restaurant near school?" Sakamoto adjusted his glasses. "I tried their food before. A bit sweet for my liking. I think senpai will enjoy it, though."

She nodded happily. "Any tips for me on how to make that day perfect?"

Sakamoto pondered over her words for a second. "Just be yourself and have fun."

Unbeknownst to them, Aina and her friends were listening in, smirking to themselves.

* * *

The week quickly flew by, and before Midori knew it, it was Hayabusa-senpai's birthday. It was a school day that day, so they arranged to meet at the restaurant half an hour after dismissal. As soon as the bell rang, Midori grabbed her bags and _flew_ to the shrine, eager to change (and close the shrine for the day).

Once she left, Aina looked at Tanaka and Yagi and smiled. "Did you bring them, girls?"

They nodded, pulling out a coats from their bags. The three of them put them on, hiding the conspicuous red sailor shirt. They nodded at each other, stealthily making their out of class.

Sakamoto adjusted his glasses, before Midori's words rang in his ears. _"I just want to make the day perfect for senpai."_

He picked up his bag and too decided to make his way out of class and towards the restaurant.

\- X -

Hayabusa arrived at the meeting spot five minutes beforehand as usual. He wore a white top, blue jacket, and jeans, and was waiting impatiently.

"Sorry for the wait!" a voice greeted him.

He sighed to himself. _'At least she's not late this time.'_

She stood in front of him, smiling sweetly. She was dressed in a red pinafore dress, blouse, and had a cream cardigan on.

He didn't say anything but, "Let's go then."

Aina and her friends sighed to each other from their hiding spot where they were secretly spying on the pair at.

"See girls," Aina said, flipping her pigtails backwards. "In this scenario, the guy should _always_ compliment on the girls' looks."

"Maybe they're not dating," Yagi said.

"But two people going for a meal… it should be a date, right?" Tanaka said.

"Kuronuma-san, Yagi-san, Tanaka-san," a voice said from behind them.

The three turned, eyes widening at the sight of Sakamoto. "Sakamoto-kun!"

"We're going to the nearby restaurant!" Aina said excitedly. "Would you like to join us?"

The other two girls nodded excitedly.

He adjusted his glasses. "The food there is too sweet for my liking. I will go to the Fast Food joint Kubota is working at to pay him a visit on his shift."

With that, he turned and left.

"Wait…" Tanaka said. "If Kubota is on his shift, that means… Sakamoto will be there eating alone!"

Yagi gasped. "We can-"

"We can join Sakamoto-kun!" Aina exclaimed. "It'll be like a date!"

With that, the three of them took off after Sakamoto, forgetting all about their plans to spy on Midori and Hayabusa.

* * *

Their time in the café went without a hitch. They sampled the various desserts in the café, ate leisurely, and talked amicably (it was more of a case of Midori chattering away animatedly with Hayabusa listening and occasionally throwing in a few sentences, but it suited them fine).

She just finished telling him a story involving the shrine, birds, Sakamoto, and all their female classmates when Hayabusa spoke up.

"Don't you feel ever lonely?"

She hesitated for a second. Ever since her parents migrated overseas, she's been busy minding the shrine after school, and her role as shrine maiden didn't make her the most popular girl in middle school. Even now in class 1-2, she does not have much friends due her lack of friend-making skills.

"It's not hard to get used to once 'goodbye' is a word you hear the most every day," she said. She fidgeted with her fork, and because she was so unused to sharing about this part of herself, and because she was trying so hard to shift the conversation, the first thing that came out of her mouth was: "What about you and your brothers, senpai? Do you feel lonely too?"

She jolted the moment she realized what she said. _'Midori you idiot!'_ she could have slapped herself.

He smiled a bit, almost to himself. "Like I told Sakamoto before… I don't think it so bad to lack what we never had in the first place."

Guilt washed over her, causing her usual serene self to start blabbering nonsense. "I'm sorry, senpai! I didn't mean to- I mean, I wasn't thinking-! I just said the first thing that- I'm sorry-"

He popped a piece of chocolate into her mouth, cutting her off effectively.

He smirked. "You sure talk a lot, Midori Miho." He took a bit of his waffle, swallowed, and added, "But I don't mind."

 _Doki doki._

Midori's heart skipped a beat.

\- X -

The sun was beginning to set after they had their fill of dessert and left the restaurant.

On the way back to the shrine (Hayabusa insisted on walking her home), Midori suddenly asked, "Hey senpai, do you remember how we met?"

She was expecting him to say something along the lines of 'because of Sakamoto' or 'you threw me a broom when your classmates tried to attack me'.

Instead, he said, "Yeah, you were lost on the first day of school, somehow made your way into the Year Two block _and_ bumped into Maruyama." He laughed. "I still remember how annoyed he was by it for the whole day."

She froze in her tracks. "Wait, senpai, you knew it was me? But…"

She thought of her old disguise and its spiral glasses, braids, and no trademark ribbons at the top of her head.

Noticing that she stopped, he looked back at her. "I did wonder why you changed your looks when you threw me that broom in your class, but then again…" he smirked. "You look more of a shrine maiden and less of a klutz like that."

He turned, starting to walk again. "Are you coming or not?"

She blinked, before breaking out into a smile. "Coming!" she jogged up to him, matching her pace to his once they were side by side.

"You know, senpai," she said almost shyly. "When we first met and when you helped me, I thought you were really cool."

He was silent for a few moments. "No wonder all the First Year delinquents think so too."

She laughed. "What, all of them bumped into Maruyama at some point and fell down, only to be helped up by you?"

He smirked, letting out a short laugh. "Pretty much."

They reached the front of the shrine, stopping in front of the steps to the gate.

"Thank you senpai," Midori said. "For spending the day with me, for always helping me out, for keeping me company, and for making my school life fun." She smiled, her eyes forming little half-moons as she did so. "Thank you coming into this world."

He looked at her in surprise. (His face seemed a bit red, but it could have been because of the evening sun.) "… not like I have any choice in that."

She pulled out a parcel from her bag and gave it to him. "Happy birthday, Shou-kun."

She turned and was about to walk up the steps and disappear into the shrine when she felt a hand around her wrist.

"Wait."

Swiftly, he pulled her towards him and against his chest. And then, just like that, he leaned in and kissed her.

Her heart rate increased and she felt blood rushing to her face. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she wound her arms around him, bringing him closer to her. A gust wind blew, causing a few leaves to breeze through the air gently, creating a romantic backdrop.

He broke the kiss, smirking at her flushed cheeks and dazed gaze. "See you in school tomorrow, Midori Miho."

\- X -

The moment Midori walked up the steps, passed the gate, and disappeared into the shrine, the figure sitting at the top of the tree nearest to the gate gracefully leaped down. He dusted his uniform with one hand, and another hand held a fan.

' _I always knew that this fan would come in handy,'_ Sakamoto thought to himself.

On his way home after visiting the Fast Food chain Kubota did his shift at, he saw Hayabusa and Midori walking together. Remembering Midori's words about wanting to make the day perfect, he stealthily made his way to the shrine before they arrived, waiting for them at the top of the tree. Once the moment seemed perfect, he whipped his fan out, creating a gust of wind that sent leaves flying about.

Sakamoto adjusted his glasses, making his way home. _'Secret Technique: Scatter the Leaves.'_


	9. Happy Single Awareness Day

One day, when Hayabusa was just hanging around the abandoned classroom where all the delinquents were gathering at, he heard one of the Year Ones talk amongst themselves.

".. come on," one of them said to the other. "We all know that Aina-chan is the prettiest in 1-2."

"Well, yeah," the other agreed. "But she's heads over heels for Sakamoto. _She's_ not, though. She's actually really cute-"

"She isn't as petite nor have boobs like Aina-chan's!"

"Yeah but there's just something so _fascinating_ and exotic about a little shrine maiden!"

That caught the attention of Hayabusa.

The Year One continued blabbering. "Katagi's so cute and easy-going – I bet if I ask her out she'll agree-"

"Oi," Hayabusa interjected, clapping a hand to his shoulder.

The Year Ones jump. _'When did he get here?! Wasn't he just in his corner-'_

"Yasuda," he continued. "Don't you have things to do and places to be? I bet Maruyama is _dying_ to ask you to run some errands. In fact, you'll be so busy that you won't have time to be running around and asking girls out, will you?"

"Yes senpai! I mean no senpai! I mean yes I will run my errands for Maruyama-senpai! I won't have time, not at all senpai!" the Year One said frantically, bowing quickly before scampering away.

Hayabusa snorted, going back to his corner and drinking his carton of juice.

Atsushi snickered at the two as they ran to carry out errands. "Looks like someone pissed Hayabusa-senpai off."

"What made him so angry?" Yasuda asked in a whisper, scared that Hayabusa would suddenly appear again.

Atsushi guffawed, clutching his sides. "Oh man! What rock have you been living under? Don't you know that Katagi has a crush on Hayabusa-senpai?"

"Huh?!" Yasuda's eyes widened. "No I didn't! … But why is senpai angry at me for wanting to ask her out if she is the one who has a crush on him?"

Atsushi sighed. "So young, so foolish." (But he was actually hiding the fact that he didn't understand why either.)

* * *

To be honest, everything started because of Atsushi.

It started the day after Hayabusa fought with Sakamoto at the riverbed all those months ago. He was with the other delinquents in 'their' classroom as usual, leaning against the wall at the corner, quietly taking a sip of his drink.

One of the Year Ones – Atsushi – was talking to the other delinquents animatedly.

 _"…_ _Hayabusa-senpai is just so cool! So cool that one of my classmates even have a crush on him!"_

That did not catch his attention. He continued drinking his juice.

 _"_ _When all the girls were charging at him, Katagi swooped in and helped him! She threw a broom at him, and of course, since Hayabusa-senpai is so talented and such an amazing fighter he-"_

Now that caught his attention.

 _"_ _Katagi?"_ he asked. _"The shrine maiden?"_

(The girl only told him that she was 'Midori Miho' when they met again at her shrine. He didn't know her full name.)

Atsushi nodded excitedly, pleased that senpai finally noticed him. " _Yes, Katagi Midori! I'm telling you, senpai, you're so cool that even shrine maidens fall at your feet!"_

 _"…_ _Huh."_ Was all Hayabusa said before he went back to sipping his drink.

During class, when he was losing concentration, he felt his thoughts drift to the green haired girl in Sakamoto's class. He was already intrigued by her – and to some extent even grateful to her – but to hear that she harbored a crush on him puzzled him even more. She was calm and his short interaction with her did not allow him to figure out if she really did like him as Atsushi said so.

That was the start of it all.

Along the way of them spending time with each other and being in each other's company, he no longer cared if she really did like him as Atsushi claimed she did (for the record, he still does not know if that is true). He found himself valuing her company and treating her as… a friend.

From that day on, all the delinquents made sure they steered clear of Katagi Midori's way, or risk to face the wrath of Hayabusa.

* * *

"Valentine's Day is coming!" Midori heard Aina squealed one day in class. "Aina-chan is so excited! I can't wait for after school – I am going to buy the biggest and best chocolate for Sakamoto-kun!"

"Count me in!" Tanaka said. Yagi nodded.

The rest of the girls in class overheard, and made plans to too get chocolates.

Midori thought about the souvenir chocolate she has for sale in the shrine. _'I think I can give that to my male friends. I know; I'll give those to Sakamoto and Kubota for always coming to the shrine.'_

Then she thought of Hayabusa-senpai and involuntarily smiled. _'Senpai loves sweets. What a good reason to give him some! But wait… won't it be as good as confessing to him if I gave him chocolates?'_

She mulled over that for a bit. She did not want him to know that she _liked_ like him; he was smart and handsome and charming and cool, she was just a little girl tied to her shrine – and she was his kouhai no less. She was quite sure he never thought of her as 'girlfriend' material, despite them going a few dates.

 _'_ _But senpai loves sweets,'_ she argued with herself.

She came to a decision – she'll make him some chocolates instead!

With that in mind, she resolved to finish her shrine maiden duties earlier that day and get busy making chocolates.

* * *

Valentines' Day rolled about and Midori got to school early, clutching a box with handmade chocolates inside. It had taken her a lot of practice and after a whooping total of seven failed batches, she finally made a batch of presentable chocolates that she deemed worthy to be given to her beloved senpai.

She hung about the locker area, and once she saw Hayabusa-senpai's signature blond ponytail, she sprung forward, ready to wish him a happy Valentines' and pass him her chocolates.

She faltered in her steps once she saw the multitude of girls – attractive girls – milling around him, thrusting boxes after boxes of lavishly wrapped _expensive_ chocolates. They were all bobbling around him, hiding him from her view.

She looked down at her box of handmade chocolates, feeling it to be pathetic compared to theirs. She thought of their beauty and while people always do make it a point to comment on how _'cute'_ the Midori Miho is, she felt like a child compared to them. She thought of her senpai; charismatic, smart, and an all-around _desirable_ person.

Midori turned her heel and walked away quickly, eager to retreat in the safety of her class.

She didn't look at where she was going and nearly ran into Sakamoto. She hastily apologized to him, passing to him some chocolates readily sold at her shrine's souvenir shop before making her way to class.

Sakamoto looked at her disappearing from view and at Hayabusa surrounded by adoring girls before adjusting his glasses.

* * *

Lunchtime rolled about and Hayabusa was feeling vexed. It was Valentines' Day and he hadn't even _seen_ the Midori Miho for the whole day, much less received any chocolates from her.

Resolving to put his vexation to ease, he set off to class 1-2. When he entered and found Midori's table empty, he went straight to Sakamoto's table.

"Yo, Sakamoto. Have you seen the Midori Miho-"

He stopped abruptly when his gaze landed on a particular chocolate amidst the mountain of chocolates on Sakamoto's desk. The particular chocolate was wrapped with paper that he had seen before in the Midori Jinja's souvenir shop, and had a red Omamori charm attached to it.

The Midori Miho gave chocolates to Sakamoto, but not him?! He felt it like a blow to his gut.

Sakamoto didn't say anything for a moment. He adjusted his glasses before quietly saying, "… Katagi-san gave Kubota and I chocolates from the shrine's souvenir shop. I saw her carrying a box of handmade chocolates. But the question is, senpai, did you see her over the boxes of chocolates you received from other girls?"

Hayabusa had an epiphany, feeling a second blow to his gut.

He smirked. "Well then, thank you, Sakamoto."

With that, he took off to the roof.

* * *

Midori sighed, looking at the box of chocolates she placed on her lap. It was break time and she decided to go to the roof.

 _'_ _Well, no point in letting these go to waste,'_ she thought to herself, opening the box and popping one into her mouth. ' _Hmm, not bad at all,'_ she thought to herself while chewing the piece of chocolate.

"It's not very nice of you to be eating chocolate meant for someone else," a familiar voice spoke.

She glanced up, meeting Hayabusa-senpai's sharp blue eyes.

"Senpai!" she exclaimed, rising to her feet while gathering the box of chocolates in her hand.

His gaze fell to the box. "Are these for me?"

"Yes… but," she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand. "I didn't think you'd be interested, especially after receiving so many luxurious ones…."

His eyes softened. "Just so you know, I prefer handmade chocolates over any store-bought ones any other day."

There was a certain glint in his eyes as a smirk graced his features. "Let's try your chocolate, Midori Miho."

Just as Midori was about to pass him the box, he took a step closer to her, taking hold of her face in his hand. He tilted her chin up, and just like that, he gently kissed her. Her eyes closed, and she relished in the moment, placing her free hand on his shoulder as his other arm wrapped around her back.

Hayabusa smirked after they broke apart. "Not bad. Sweet, the way I like it."


	10. Goodbye, Farewell, My Friend

The last day of school had finally rolled about and it was the day of the graduation ceremony for the Year Three students.

On stage, the Principal droned on and on, congratulating the graduating students and giving them generic life advice. The students sat at the front of the stage, barely listening as the speeches went on.

"… and that concludes the end of my speech. Before we welcome our non graduating student representative to make his speech, let us first welcome the shrine maiden of the Midori Jinja to open the ceremony with a ritual dance. Katagi Midori, if you please."

Midori walked to the front of the stage from behind the curtains, dressed in her shrine maiden outfit, and carrying a fan. She bowed before starting the ritual dance.

The students clapped politely when she finished. She bowed again before retreating to the back of the stage.

"Thank you, Katagi-chan," the teacher said. "Now, may we welcome our student representative."

"Sakamoto-kun?" his classmates explained as he stood up.

He walked to the podium gracefully, catching the attention of everyone as he opened his speech by knocking down a volleyball that had been stuck in the hall's rafters for near three years.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the graduating cohort, please allow me to congratulate you on your graduation…"

Sakamoto's speech seemed to be starting off well – he had the attention of everyone, even those previously sleeping, and his decorum was such that even those who didn't usually agree found themselves agreeing with his words.

However, in the midst of his speech, the door slammed. There was a loud screeching sound as Atsushi, with heavy footsteps, made his way to the front of the stage while dragging a bat behind him.

The students started screaming when Atsushi attacked teachers who tried to stop him.

"Sakamoto…" he said in a dark voice as the walked up the steps leading to the stage, pointing his bat in the direction of the bespectacled boy. "Disappear."

Sakamoto merely looked at him and adjusted his glasses before continuing his speech. "As you're graduating, I'm sure you'll have a lot of uncertainties in your mind. This may be presumptuous of me, but allow me to share with you some techniques on how to clear your doubts."

"Oi, Sakamoto! Don't you dare ignore me!" Atsushi roared, swinging his bat.

The door leading to the hall slammed open, and Hayabusa, along with Ken-Ken and Mario, burst into the hall, charging towards the stage, all ready to take down Atsushi.

Meanwhile, Midori, who just finished changing back into her school uniform, decided to peek out to see what is all the commotion outside about. She pulled back the curtain on the right side of the stage, intending to take a quick look, and then exit from the right wing's steps, joining her class to listen to Sakamoto's speech.

Just as she opened the curtain and took a step out, Atsushi's gaze narrowed in onto her. In a fast, furious motion, he grabbed her towards him. He held her around the shoulders and placed her in front of his like a shield, pointing his bat at Sakamoto.

"You better pay attention to me!"

Midori struggled against his hold.

"Midori-!" Hayabusa said before he gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

Just as he was about to charge up stage, Sakamoto placed a finger to his lips before clearing his throat, ready to continue speaking.

"Sometimes, life will hold you at gunpoint. You may feel suffocated, and even scared. But do not worry…"

Atsushi roared in anger, thrusting his arm aside and throwing Midori off-stage.

She closed her eyes, bringing her arms to the front of her chest and bracing for impact.

"… because those who care about you will be there to catch you when you fall."

When the hard impact did not come, Midori cracked her eyes open. Her eyes widened in shock as she realised she was in the arms of Hayabusa-senpai.

"Senpai!" she exclaimed.

Hayabusa, who ran forward and caught Midori bridal style _just_ before she hit the ground, grunted in response. He gently set her to her feet, giving her a once-over to check for any injuries. He nodded once in satisfaction when he found her otherwise unscathed.

"Thank you, Hayabusa-senpai."

"Hn, as long as you're fine. Damn that Atsushi." He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, glancing towards the direction of the teachers before his gaze fell on Fukase. "Fukase _again_."

In the meantime, the students were happily seated down, convinced that everything that was happening was all a skit and part of Sakamoto's speech.

"How creative!" a teacher exclaimed, clapping her hands. "To think of letting a delinquent contribute on this joyous occasion! What a great message it sends out."

"So daring!" a graduating student exclaimed to another. "Soo cool to let the blond guy catch her in the nick of time. How romantic!"

On stage, Sakamoto was doing a good job convincing everyone that it was all an elaborate skit. While dodging all of Atsushi's blows, he spoke into the mic, relating everything that was happening as part of life advice that he was giving the graduating cohort.

The two climbed up the ladder leading to the upper foyer above the stage. Sakamoto climbed the railing gracefully, still continuing his speech. Atsushi gnashed his teeth together and swung – but the force of his swing caused him to lose his balance and topple over the railing.

The crowd gasped.

Sakamoto, with his free hand, caught Atsushi's wrist, stopping his fall. Atsushi started hitting Sakamoto's hand in retaliation, yelling at the former to let go of him.

The crowd winced as the bruises started to show after each of Atsushi's blows. Fukase smirked, obviously enjoying the sound of Sakamoto getting attacked. At one point, Atsushi even landed a hit on Sakamoto's face, sending his glasses flying.

Fujita stood up, crying that she will stop them.

Kubota grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Please, have faith in Sakamoto-kun!"

"Why…" Atsushi said as tears streamed down his face. "Why would you even care what happens to me?!"

Sakamoto smiled, saying something to him before speaking into the mic again. "When things get tough, don't lose hope. Just believe…"

The two of them landed gracefully on the floor, with Sakamoto adjusting his clothes and glasses while Atsushi snivelled.

Sakamoto took hold of his hand and raised it up. "Believe in your friends and yourself."

The two bowed.

They were received by a standing ovulation. Class 1-2 was cheering the loudest, hooting and shouting the names of Sakamoto and Atsushi. Some of the graduating students were crying tears of joy, clapping at the beautiful speech they had the pleasure of hearing. The teachers were clapping, astonished at the wonderful speech and its impact.

* * *

"There," Hayabusa said, releasing his hold over Sakamoto's injured hand. "It's set now."

"Sakamoto-!" Midori called as she hurried towards them. Sakamoto, Hayabusa, Atsushi and his friends had gone outside of the hall after the speech, and Hayabusa was applying first-aid to Sakamoto's injury.

"Here," she said, passing antiseptic cream over to him.

He thanked her politely, accepting the cream and starting to apply it on his wound.

Atsushi started crying again once he saw Sakamoto's wound. "S-Sakamoto! I'm… I'm so sorry!"

Hayabusa turned to him, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Fukase-san put you up to it, didn't he? It's okay, I'm sure Sakamoto understands."

Sakamoto smiled.

"Though…" he walked up to Midori, wrapping an arm around the small of her back and pulling her to his side. (She looked at him questioningly.)

"You'd still better to apologize to my girlfriend for throwing her off stage."

"Girlfriend?" Midori exclaimed.

"Girlfriend?" Atsushi and his friends exclaimed.

Atsushi wiped away his tears, inclining his head in a bow hastily. "I'm sorry, Katagi-san!"

"No, no worries… Senpai!" she turned to him, looking up at him from beneath her eyelashes. "What do you mean by girlfriend?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Didn't I already say that we were practically dating at the start of the year?"

"Yeah but you said practically-"

"Stupid. How many other people do you see me taking out on dates?"

"I…" Midori's cheeks dusted pink. "I… didn't think you liked me that way, senpai…"

He rolled his eyes, averting his gaze. "… neither did I for you, but now that I told the boys that you're my girlfriend you don't have a say in the matter."

Midori giggled. "If you say so, senpai."

The boys hooted, exclaiming about how cool and smooth their beloved Hayabusa-senpai is. Sakamoto smiled again, informing them that he will be looking for bandages in the infirmary before leaving.

Once he left, a delinquent raised his concern. "Hayabusa-senpai…! What about us? We don't have that 'something' yet… Does this mean that Fukase-san can pull the rug from us anytime?!"

"Yeah…" Hayabusa pondered. "We got to do something about Fukase-san."

* * *

Later on, when Sakamoto exited the infirmary and was on his way back into the hall, he passed by a group of delinquents and Hayabusa.

"Well, well," Sakamoto said after overhearing Hayabusa's plan to fight things out with Fukase. "That won't do. You plan on graduating next year too, don't you? Besides…" he adjusted his glasses. "It won't look good for your blossoming relationship with Katagi-san."

Hayabusa hated it when Sakamoto was right. He looked in the direction of the hall, thinking about Midori who was in there, sitting with her class before he lowered his fists.

Sakamoto smiled. "I have an idea…"

* * *

"And now," the principal said as the last graduating student filled out of the hall. "That concludes the end of our ceremony-"

"Wait." The door slammed opened, and the delinquents filled in, standing in a straight line at the middle of the hall.

Hayabusa stood at the front of the line, smirking. "We have one more graduating student with us."

And with that, the delinquents got on their knees, congratulating Fukase on his graduation.

"Shou," he said, looking at them at his position at the front of the stage coldly. "What's this about?"

"However rough the waters in the outside world may be... To find your own lighthouse and swim for it is only logical, isn't it, senpai?"

"Oh?" Fukase eyed him. "And what would your lighthouse be, Shou? Your family?... I hear that you got yourself a girlfriend now. Or is she your lighthouse now? I wonder, if should I use her as my next way of killing time…"

When he saw that Hayabusa neither flinched nor moved from his position with the rest of the delinquents, he turned his back to them and scoffed. "How completely ridiculous."

At that moment, Sakamoto snuck up behind him, elbowing him at the back of his legs with his knee. Fukase fell on top of the delinquents, and with that, they began to 'wave' him out of the hall.

The crowd cheered, clapping the whole time.

"Well, well," Sakamoto said, observing the scene. "You're swimming just fine."

And thus, the rest of the graduating ceremony went on without a hitch.

* * *

"Senpai," Midori said to Hayabusa on the day of the closing ceremony. "Did you hear about the rumour?"

"The one about Sakamoto?"

"Yeah…" she glanced down sadly. "The class rep and some others went up to the senseis and confirmed it. Sakamoto is leaving the school."

"Huh," was all Hayabusa said.

He waited at the lockers at the end of the day, waiting for Sakamoto.

Once he appeared, Hayabusa said, "You're not really going to America, are you?"

Sakamoto continued walking towards the entrance to the lockers with his pie in hand. "I have no idea what you mean, senpai."

"You don't have any regrets?"

He paused. "If I do, it's that I don't know the exact number of holes in the ceiling of the infirmary."

Hayabusa smirked, wordlessly eyeing him.

Sakamoto inclined his head in a polite bow. "Please take care of Katagi-san. I wish you two the best."

With that, he left.

As he crossed the courtyard on his way towards the front gate, he heard a shout from the Year One classrooms.

Midori and the rest of her classmates, with their faces still messy from the pie-fight, peered out of the window, waving to Sakamoto.

"Goodbye, Sakamoto!"

"I'll never forget you!"

"Thank you, Sakamoto-kun!"

"We're friends forever, Sakamoto-kun!"

It was too far to tell, but if Midori didn't know better, she would have sworn that Sakamoto teared up for a split second before he turned his back to them, holding up crossed fingers.

She felt a bittersweet pang in her heart as they watched him gradually disappear from their field of vision. It was a wild ride, and there were many adventures from the one year she was in Sakamoto's class – but two things are for sure.

One, she was glad that they had Sakamoto as their classmate.

Two, even when Sakamoto will not physically be with their class anymore, the adventure never ends.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for bearing with me! It was really fun writing this; I hope you like _Sakamoto Desu Ga?_ as much as I do! The next chapter will be the last, stay tuned!**


	11. Life is An Adventure, and It Never Ends

Midori, although always brought up to be a calm, cool, collected girl, has harboured secret... _doubts_ about her relationship. More specifically, the lack of romance in her relationship.

(She blames Aina and the rest. They're always squealing about relationships and reading things from gossip magazines out loud, causing her to feel like those things are the norm and that her current relationship was, well, abnormal.)

Midori and Hayabusa acted pretty much the same as they did before they were officially a couple. They spent breaks together here and there, he walked her home from time to time, she visits his place and stays there for dinner occasionally (his father was happy when he found out they were dating), and they still texted each other every other day or so.

"When two people are together, the romantic boyfriend will call his girlfriend cute names! It'll be a _pet_ name for each other, how sweet!" Aina exclaimed in class.

Hayabusa doesn't call her anything special. He continues calling her 'Midori Miho', and occasionally 'Midori'.

One day, during lunch, when they were in the cafeteria together, Midori asked him why does he call her that. (The other delinquents all know that they are dating and gives them 'personal space' when their beloved senpai decides to spend breaks with his girlfriend).

"When we met, you told me you were the Midori Miho of the shrine. Figured I should just call you the way you introduced yourself. Somewhere along the line it just stuck, I suppose." He looked up from his chopsticks. "What's with the sudden question?"

She sheepishly twiddled with her chopsticks. "Aina was talking about how couples call each other cute things… so I was just… thinking… hahaha…"

Hayabusa scoffed, using his chopsticks to pick up some noodles. "… it's not like you even call me by my _name_ …" he mumbled before taking a mouthful.

"What did you say, senpai?" she asked, looking up from her food obliviously.

He rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Eat your food before it gets cold, Midori Miho."

And thus, for the rest of the year, they would continue calling each other 'Midori Miho' and 'Hayabusa-senpai'.

* * *

"Couples will always do lovely dovely things together," Aina sighed another day, jabbing at her magazine. "Like forehead kisses, holding hands, hugs… you name it!"

Midori was sent thinking about her relationship again. Sure, they hold hands… and most of the time, it's initiated by Hayabusa-senpai, and it's always because the weather was cold and that he didn't want to feel cold.

(Excuses. But the girl didn't know that, of course. She was every bit clueless.)

She decided that she can't always sit around and wait for her boyfriend to take action. Thus, she set off to take some initiative.

Following that, she decided to put her plan in action when she saw Hayabusa in front of her during break. He was at the vending machines with two of his 'fans', his back facing her. She went up to him and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"Senpai!" she greeted.

She felt him stiffen in shock. His lackeys started whistling, faces flushed in excitement. Hayabusa turned around once she released her grip on him and frowned.

He placed a hand on her forehead and peered in her face. "Are you sick?"

Before she could say anything, he sighed. "Must have been working too hard at the shrine again."

Midori sighed internally, deciding that it was the last time she was going to try to be romantic again.

Hayabusa carried on. "After school, wait for me. I'll walk you home."

"Senpai!" his lackeys cried. "You're so caring!"

And on top of that, while walking her home, he insisted on holding her hand, lest she "faint or something", as he put it eloquently.

In a sense, her plan doesn't a total failure. As the year went on, they learnt how to be more affectionate with each other; slowly, and subtly. They found a middle ground they're both happy with, so it was all fine and dandy with them.

* * *

"The boyfriend will _have_ to declare his love for his girlfriend," Aina said seriously to Yagi and Tanaka some day in class. "It's basic romantic protocol!"

The moment Midori heard that she felt her shoulders slump in defeat. Hayabusa-senpai didn't even tell her that he liked her – it was more of a case of him _informing_ her that they were an item.

So during their break, when they were on the rooftop, she asked, "Senpai, do you like me?"

He choked on the juice he was drinking. "What the hell - Yeah, sure, of course not. I do not like you at all, that's _why_ we're dating."

He sighed heavily when he saw her shoulders slump. "You idiot, of course I do. Why on earth would I be dating you if I didn't?"

She beamed at him, her eyes making half-moons as she did so. "Well then, senpai, I like you too!"

He averted his gaze from her, hiding the flush that appeared on his face when he heard her so straightforwardly declare that she liked him. "… of course you do. Anyway, what brought this on this time? Is this about that Aina girl's magazine again?"

She meekly nodded.

He rolled his eyes. "Why are you all obsessed with her, I don't even know. Not a day goes by without me hearing the Year Two boys talking about her."

She protested. "But senpai-"

He leaned over and kissed her, effectively shutting her up. She never did manage to finish saying what she wanted to.

And thus, along their following year together, Midori decided that Aina's gossip magazines were not exactly applicable to her relationship - and she was glad that is was so.

Midori came to the realization that reason why she started liking Hayabusa-senpai in the first place was because of _who_ he is, and she decided she didn't actually care or not if he wasn't as romantic as the boyfriends Aina described to the rest of the class. Since they were good friends before they started officially dating, their dynamics were still understandably more or less the same - a sudden 180 degree change in both of them would be just scary. They just... _clicked_ together, as cheesy and absolutely unoriginal as it sounded.

Of course, their relationship isn't perfect – Midori is not one for expressing all her vexations, and Hayabusa gets frustrated at her for bottling her feelings; Hayabusa is always quick to jump into things and rash, and she worries about his school conduct and if he will get hurt; they do have an occasional disagreement here and there simply because of school and stress and miscommunication. But she was always one for peace and rationally talking things out (being Sakamoto's classmate taught her that), he was able to show his kind intentions behind his harsh words (after Sakamoto showed him how to do that), and things always worked out eventually.

And they were fine with that.

* * *

In a blink of an eye, a year passed, and soon Hayabusa's graduating ceremony loomed ahead.

Due to the spectacular performance Sakamoto and Atsushi gave last year, the teachers decided that their class – currently known as class 2-2 – were great at handling matters relating to graduation. Hence, the teachers requested for the class to make the refreshments that are to be provided for the graduating students.

"Katagi-chan," Fujita said once they received the task. "Could you be in charge of baking dessert? We're getting everyone to contribute someway, and your cooking is one of the best in class! We're really counting on you! I'll be catering drinks, and Kana will be –"

"I'm sorry," Midori interjected, keeping her eyes firmly on her desk and avoiding Fujita's eyes. "I cannot."

"If it's about the materials or work-space you don't have to worry! The materials will be provided and you can bake in school-"

"I," Midori said levelly, still not meeting her eyes. "… refuse. I refuse to contribute to the graduating ceremony. I apologize."

"Ah-" Fujita was stunned.

"Oi!" Ken-Ken said, frowning. "Don't be selfish! There's a lot of things to do - Atsushi is single handedly going to be making the refreshment table, did you know that? - so it's only fair that everyone does something! Besides, isn't your boyfriend Hayabusa-senpai? Don't you want to give him graduating ceremony-"

"Maybe," she stood up with a bang, slamming her hands against her table. "Maybe I don't want to see Shou graduate!"

Her cheeks flushed with shame at her outburst. The class was looking at her in shock.

"If only Sakamoto-kun was here," Kana whispered, breaking the silence. "This wouldn't happen with him around."

Some of the girls started crying in memory of Sakamoto, wailing about how they wish they could go to America as well. Midori bit her lip and ran out of the class, running into the first empty classroom she saw.

Of course, as luck would have it, the class she ran into _had_ to be a Home Economics class. She went to the back of the class, leaning against the cabinet and sighed.

She _was_ being selfish, she knew that. Of _course_ she wanted Hayabusa-senpai to graduate – he had it all for him. His results were good, and he was offered a scholarship to a University near his house. His father was so happy about it, and so was he, for he was interested in the courses offered there.

She too was happy for him. But a small part of him was reluctant to see him go; after all, they _met_ in this school, and he was her senpai – and they shared so many memories together.

She sighed, ready to walk out of the class and find someplace else to be alone when she noticed a slip of paper fall from the cabinet. She picked it up, only to realize it was a past year worksheet, and that it belonged to Sakamoto.

At the top of the worksheet, written in perfect cursive were the words, "Cooking brings joy."

She felt as if she was struck by lightning. She clutched the paper in her shaking hands. Of course – cooking was done to bring _happiness_ to those eating it. And more than anything, she wanted to see Hayabusa, her senpai, her _boyfriend,_ to be happy while eating desserts during his graduation ceremony.

Desserts that _she_ made.

Afterwards, she went straight back to class, bowed in apology, and accepted the task of baking desserts for the ceremony.

* * *

And just like that, the day of the graduation ceremony. The ceremony went without a hitch – no Fukase to screw things up, no delinquent to hit the non-graduating speaker, no forcing of a reluctant Year Three to graduate.

As cliche as it sounds, it went perfectly.

Midori met up with Hayabusa at the front yard just in front of the school building. All around them were people milling about taking photos, signing yearbooks, exchanging of contact details, and giving each other general farewells.

She shuffled awkwardly, not quite knowing what to say.

"Why do you look like you're about to burst into tears?" Hayabusa gruffly asked.

"No, I-"

"Here," he said, thrusting a hand at her.

His hand was curled and holding onto something. She placed an outstretched palm under his hand, cocking her head to a side questioningly. Then he dropped a button into her outstretched hand. She looked at it, and then at his jacket – only to find the second button missing.

Her eyes widened. ' _Is this-?'_

In Japan, it was customary for a graduating male student to give the second button of his school jacket to a female he liked (or for a female kouhai to ask for the second button of a male senpai they liked), and their school was no stranger to this practice.

She heard someone yell from behind. "Yo, Katagi-san! A lot of girls were asking Hayabusa-senpai for his second button, but he rejected all of them for you-!"

(Ken-Ken and Mario dragged Atsushi away while covering his mouth, dragging him away from the two and back to their hiding spot where a few others were hiding there to spy on their beloved senpai.)

"You know what it means, right?" Hayabusa said, placing one hand in his pocket and averting his gaze from hers. "Look after it, you hear?"

"Yes… thank you, senpai!" she smiled at him, her eyes making half-moons as she did so. "I love you, Shou-kun."

He looked back at her with her smiling eyes, pink cheeks, and earnest confession, his eyes softening. He was never one for expressing his feelings with words. Instead, he gently held the side of her face in his hand, pulling her closer to him as he leaned in and kissed her.

(Those spying on them squealed.)

When they broke apart, Midori was looking at him with eyes glistening with tears.

He sighed, ruffling her hair. "Stupid. It's not like I'm never seeing you ever again. I'll still be in the same house; you'll still be in your shrine. We'll still be texting. I'll still be visiting the shrine; and my father and brothers will still be nagging at me to bring you home for dinner."

"But you won't be my senpai anymore."

He smirked, flicking her forehead. "Is that your concern, you moronic girl? Anyway, you're graduating next year too. Who knows? Maybe I'll end up becoming your senpai again after that."

She laughed. "So this is not the end, Hayabusa-senpai?"

"No." He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of the head. (They were unusually affectionate that day – he blamed it on the fact it was graduation day.) "This is only another chapter of our lives, Midori Miho."

* * *

' _Life is either a great adventure, or nothing. That is what I've learnt in the one year of being Sakamoto's classmate, and in the another year of being Hayabusa Shou's girlfriend. Hello - my name is Katagi Midori. I attend Gakubun Prefectural High School, and I will be in class 3-2 next year. Right now, I am happy with my life – attending classes in the day, performing shrine maiden duties in the noon, doing work in the evening, and spending time with my senpai in between. And I will not change anything.'_

* * *

 **The End**


End file.
